The Wanderer and the Lion
by Silverwing2012
Summary: The Capital Wasteland was more dangerous than Leyah realized. Hope seems to come in the form of Maverick Barrington, who is a grouchy wastelander with a chip on his shoulder. Can they get through whatever the Wasteland has in store for them? (Fem!Lone Wanderer/OC)
1. Chapter 1

Loud gunshots rang out over the expanse of the barren plain.

Heavy panting and the light footfall of boots sounded out right after them.

Silver furrowed her brow and glanced out her window as a light blue blur zipped by. She almost dropped to the ground when three Raiders were right behind it. Silver snuck out of her door and hurried toward the third house down the street in the ruined town of Springvale. She raised her fist to knock on the door, but it opened before she even got the chance.

"Not even ten in the fucking morning and Raiders are already pissing on my doorstep!"

Silver dodged out of the way before she could get run over by her tall neighbor, trying to make sense of what was happening in front of her. A young woman was running down the street and three Raiders were chasing her and her neighbor was now right behind them. She never imagined that one of her mornings would have started like this.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the 19 year old girl was ducking her head and dodging the bullets hissing by her.<p>

_Why did I think this was a good idea?! I should have just stayed out of Moriarty's business_, she screamed to herself as she squealed and ducked behind the corner of a house. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst out her chest as she gasped for air.

"I'm going to have me some nice, blonde, puss-"

The girl's eyes widened when the Raider's voice was cut off by a gunshot. She quickly aimed her pistol around the corner and was surprised to see the other raiders that were chasing her turning around to aim their guns at the newcomer.

The man didn't hesitate to raise his shotgun and shoot again.

Before she could comprehend what was going on, the men that were chasing her were all dead and she was the only one now. She stumbled out into the middle of the street and opened her mouth to thank the stranger.

The man glared at her and growled, "Duck."

She didn't hesitate to drop to the ground as he raised his shotgun again.

She covered her head as she heard the sickening thud of the buck hitting a body and the heavy thump that followed it. Looking over her shoulder, she gasped when she saw the body of another raider with a crowbar in his hands. She quickly flipped over and crab walked away from the body as fast as she could, breathing heavily. She stared at it wide eyed; trying to figure out what was going on.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The girl whipped her head around and looked up at her savior, suddenly feeling light headed. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to keep them open and her body felt as if it was made from the heaviest metal.

"Hey, are you okay?" the man asked.

The girl's vision started to blur and she swore she saw three men standing in front of her now. "No," she managed to gasp before her world went black.

* * *

><p>Maverick cursed and quickly knelt down, catching the girl before she could fall to the ground. "Silver! Get some Med-X and shit out," he ordered, easily looping his arms underneath her knees and back, carrying her toward his home. He kicked his door open further and carefully ducked inside, setting her on his bed.<p>

"I got some medicine. What's wrong with her?" Silver asked, handing him some Med-X and some RadAway.

Maverick didn't answer right away. Instead, he brought his knuckle to his chin as he studied the girl. She was sweating profusely and he knew her temperature was up just from holding her. His eyes roved over every part of her body, trying to find anything that could tell him what was wrong. He did a double take when he saw something bright pink near the girl's neck, right underneath her jaw.

Reaching forward, he pulled the collar of her jumpsuit down slightly and sighed when his suspicions were proven true. A light rash was starting to form on the girl's skin. "It's a Rad-cold. She must have taken on too much radiation recently," he grumbled, holding out his hand for the medicine.

Silver gave him an incredulous look. "How can you tell? Last I checked, you weren't no doctor."

Maverick sighed and pushed up the girl's jumpsuit sleeve. He injected the RadAway into her arm. "She should be fine with a few days rest and medicine. I'll look after her, Silver. Just make sure no more damn Raiders are nearby."

Silver rolled her eyes, heading toward the door. "Sure thing."

Soon, Maverick was left alone with the girl. He tilted his head, running his fingers through his hair as he studied her. He wouldn't call her tiny, just short. She only looked feeble because of the cold at the moment. He could tell she was strong when he held her. The delicate features on her face didn't match that strength at all. A lock of sandy blonde hair had pulled itself out of her ponytail and was now curled on her cheek.

No wonder Raiders were after her; she was blonde, pretty, and looked like she could put up a fight. Those fuckers liked that for some damn reason.

Maverick grumbled some curses and pulled a chair away from his table, setting it down next to the bed. He sat down and got to work on cleaning his shotgun.

One day, he was going to deny someone help, but that day was not today.

* * *

><p>When Leyah opened her eyes, everything was dark. She tried to sit up, but her body was just too weak. She turned her head to the side and fear instantly gripped her when she saw a tall and large silhouette sitting next to the bed. Where was she? Who was this man sitting next to her bed? Why was she so weak? Was she drugged? What was happening?<p>

She started to mildly thrash, trying to gain the momentum to pull herself out of the bed.

Unfortunately, the man was awake.

"Jesus, calm down." The heavy thud of his footsteps followed his words and the girl squinted when a dim light was turned on in the middle of the room.

"You have a Rad-cold. Kids usually get them because their bodies aren't used to the radiation yet. But, if you actually are from the Vault, it's not really a surprise you got it either." He sat backwards on the chair next to the bed, resting his forearms on the backrest. "Now, you're going to tell me who you are and why the hell you're not in the Vault."

Leyah eyed him suspiciously, but she didn't have the energy to be worried anymore. She spent it all trying to get out of the bed. "My name is Leyah Hunter. I was…forced to leave the Vault."

The man stared at her for some time and Leyah was starting to feel uncomfortable. Great, she just had to end up in a weirdo's house with a Rad-cold.

"Why were you forced to leave?" he finally asked.

Leyah sighed. Oh well, maybe this guy could actually help her. "I was forced out because my dad left the Vault. Now, I have no idea where he is and the only lead I have is to Moriarty in Megaton and he won't tell me jack squat unless I pay him or something."

The man tilted his head back with a bark of laughter. "Well, no shit! He doesn't tell anyone anything for free and he's a grade-A bastard." He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm Maverick, by the way. Sorry to scare you, I can only imagine how the wasteland has been treating someone as new as you."

Leyah rolled her eyes. "Oh, just great. These past couple days have been a blast!" she huffed. Her irritated outburst earned her a rush of dizziness.

"I bet it's been a fuckin' joyride," he sarcastically replied, standing up.

Leyah rested her head back on the pillow and studied her 'savior'. He was tall; taller than any man she'd ever seen. She was guessing he had to at least be 6'7". A light grey shirt clung tightly to his broad shoulders and Leyah wondered just how strong this guy was. His unruly, top cut chestnut hair stuck up a little in the front, probably from running his fingers through it. He faced the counter on the other side of the house and she could see his profile clearly now.

His rugged features seemed to fit everything else about him; from the high cheekbones, strong jawline, and to the firm set of his mouth. It was all angular and strong. He seemed to be in his late 20s or early 30s so she knew he trumped her in experience too.

Leyah knew from one glance that she wouldn't stand a chance if she wanted to escape.

Everything about the man screamed 'deadly'.

He poured something from a box into a cracked bowl and walked back over to her. "Here. Sugar Bombs aren't the best, but you need to eat."

Leyah tentatively took the bowl from his hand and peered inside. She picked up a piece of the cereal and popped it into her mouth. It wasn't too stale, and it actually tasted okay. And, luckily, she wasn't nauseous.

"So, what's your dad's name? He might have passed through here," Maverick asked after she popped a few more pieces in her mouth. He resumed his previous positon on the chair.

"James," Leyah said around a mouthful of cereal, "Doctor James Hunter."

Maverick stiffened and Leyah inched away from him and toward the wall on the bed. Crap, what if she ran into someone who didn't like her dad?

"Shorter? Dark hair? Heavy accent?"

Leyah scooted closer to him again. "Yes! That's him."

Rubbing the back of his head, Maverick gave her a broad grin. She was shocked to see how a simple grin could make him to look less terrifying. "I actually met him a long time ago. I didn't know he went into a vault…or that he had a daughter."

Leyah popped another piece of cereal into her mouth. So, that sleaze Moriarty wasn't lying to her. She was incredulous about her dad not being from the Vault…but it seemed like the fact was slowly being confirmed. "How did you know him?"

Maverick's brow furrowed and Leyah instantly regretted asking the question. She didn't want to upset this guy while she was so weak. "He…Shit, let's just say he did me a favor I'll never be able to pay back."

"What did he do?"

"That's for me to know, and you to not worry about," he retorted, resting his chin on his arms. "So, what are you planning to do?"

"Why do you care?" Leyah quipped, trying to sit up a little.

"Well, you obviously don't know what the fuck you're doing out there. And, you've been out for five days."

She almost dropped her bowl. "What?" she yelped, staring at him wide eyed.

"You. Have," Maverick said slowly, like he was talking to a toddler. "Been. Out. For. Five. Days."

The hand motions he did with every word only added to the sarcasm.

"I have to go! I can't just sit here, my dad-ugh." Leyah flopped back down on the bed as another wave of dizziness overcame her.

Maverick sighed and leaned forward, causing the chair he was sitting on to tip on its back two legs. "Look Vaultie, you don't stand a chance out there right now. I doubt you would if you were healthy too. So, I'm going to make you a deal."

Leyah's brows pinched as she glared up at him. "Oh really?"

"I can teach you how to survive out here. Then you can be on your merry way."

Leyah let out an incredulous laugh. "Oh? You'll teach me? I'm already a week behind my dad, what makes you think I want to wait any longer?"

Maverick snorted at the comment, pulling out a cigarette. "Vaultie, you're never going to find your dad if you become Super Mutant food. And I heard the Raiders like blondes more than anything else. Not to mention the slavers. Also, did I forget to mention the Mirelurks and the Deathclaws that would gladly make you their fucking snack?"

Leyah's eyes narrowed. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She would never find her dad if she was dead. But, what did this guy want in return?

"You never said what you wanted in return…"

With an even stare, Maverick took out his cigarette. "Consider this as a payment for what your dad did."

"I can't waste any more time! By the time you teach me stuff, it could become impossible to find him." Leyah took a shuddering breath as she became dizzy again.

Maverick huffed. "No one can efficiently hide forever. I know that from experience. You'll find him," he stood up, "So, shut up and get some rest."

Leyah didn't get to argue before he turned off the light and she saw his silhouette move to a different part of the house.

The wave of dizziness from earlier caused her to lie down again, huffing.

This guy was weird, but she had no other choice but to trust him right now.

* * *

><p>"So what is a Deathclaw anyway? Sounds like something from a bad Pre-war holotape."<p>

Maverick held back a groan behind grit teeth. He believed in hands on experience being the best teacher, but he was regretting it at the moment. The girl, Leyah, wouldn't shut up. He was surprised there wasn't any radscorpions or anything worse on their asses at the moment.

"Vaultie, what part of 'you have to be quiet in the wasteland' do you not understand?" he snapped, glaring at her over his shoulder.

The girl halted in her tracks and stuck her lip out in an angry pout, slinging the rifle he gave her over her shoulder. "You said to ask questions when I had them."

"Yeah, when we're in the safety of my yard, not in the middle of fucking nowhere," he retorted, continuing on his way.

He heard her grumble something but she eventually followed along. Maverick finally saw their destination. The Scrapyard may look like junk, but he found more parts and things worthy of trading with every trip he took there.

A faint 'beep' caused him to turn and glare at Vaultie. She held up her hands with a smirk. "I'm just updating my map. Did that make too much noise, Oh Great One?"

_Just fucking perfect, I'm dealing with a brat._

Maverick rolled his eyes and opened the gate to the scrapyard. "Don't push your luck, Vaultie."

For the next couple hours, he went through every part of the scrapyard and showed her the important things she could trade or use and how some things could easily be used to fix guns. And, he had to give it to her, she was a quick learner.

She was already fixing up the rifle by the time he was done showing her what a medical brace could be used for.

"Alright, let's head back. Try not to make scavenging trips too long, that just opens more opportunities for something to kill you and you could use up more supplies than you're finding."

Vaultie nodded and slung the rifle over her shoulder again with a salute. "Gotcha."

They got back to Springvale with no trouble, to Maverick's surprise, and he immediately led her to his 'back yard'. It wasn't much. It was basically a large empty space with the various targets and practice dummies he used.

"Alright, let's see how good you are with a gun," he pointed to the various targets, "Have at it, Vaultie."

Vaultie stuck her lip out again as her brow furrowed. "The name is Leyah, and I happen to be a good shot. I shot radroaches all the time in the Vault," she retorted, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder as she stepped forward with the assault rifle.

Before Maverick could give her his own sarcastic reply, she had already raised the gun and started shooting. His eyes widened when she hit all of the targets but one. He looked up at the target she missed on the windmill about 60 feet away and then looked back at her.

"Not bad."

Maybe she wasn't a lost cause after all.

* * *

><p>Leyah had never been this sore and worn out in her life.<p>

But hell, it was worth it.

After a couple short weeks, Leyah now knew how to disarm mines, use and repair every type of gun, the basic survival skills, and how to kick ass.

Maverick was adamant about showing her how to defend herself, and she wasn't complaining. After some of the looks she got from some of the men in Megaton, she was open to anything.

Maverick didn't turn out to be half bad in the end. Yes, he was grumpy and sarcastic, but Leyah learned to see the hidden meaning behind his acerbic words. Whenever he chastised her and gave her a smart remark, Leyah realized it was his own way of making sure she got the message.

And, surprisingly, he was hilarious.

Leyah found herself spitting Nuka-cola out more than once at their meals…like now. "You actually did that?!" she wheezed, wiping Nuka-cola off her chin.

"I never claimed to be smart when I was younger."

"But why?!"

"Look, the moral of the story is to never see if a Super Mutant has a dick or not."

Leyah threw her head back as she let out another laugh. "Why did you even want to look?"

Maverick shrugged as he took a swig of his beer. "Because I was 15, stupid, and someone dared me to."

"Who?!"

Maverick's amused grin slowly fell as he set down his beer. "My sister. Be glad you're an only child, Vaultie."

Perching her chin on her palm, Leyah gave him a smug grin. "Oh? So you let your sister bully you? That's news."

With an eye roll, Maverick stood and walked over to his refrigerator. "Whatever."

Leyah tilted her had a little as she studied him for a moment. "Tell me more about your sister."

Maverick barked out a laugh. "Nice try, Vaultie."

Leyah sighed and frowned at him, furrowing her brow. Maverick had a few rules; one of them was 'no personal questions'.

"Oh come on! I told you all about my life!" she whined, resting her arms on the table.

Maverick set another Nuka-Cola down next to her and shrugged. "That's your own damn fault."

Leyah puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. She answered every question he had about the Vault and her friends. Well, former friends. "Why are you so closed off? It's dumb."

"No, it's smart," he growled, popping the cap off of his beer.

"No, it's just easier to be crabby and a hermit," she quipped, gently nudging her Nuka-Cola away from her. She suddenly wasn't thirsty.

Maverick's thick brows furrowed as he set his beer down. "Are you implying something Vaultie?"

"Yes," she brazenly replied, sitting up and crossing her arms. For some reason, she wasn't intimidated by him anymore.

He sighed heavily through his nose. "Okay, fine. The only thing you'll ever know about my sister is that she's my best friend. Happy?"

"No," Leyah retorted. Well, she did feel a little happy. She got that much out of him at least. "Where is she now? Why don't you see her? Did she die?"

Maverick's mouth set in a thin, angry line as he grumbled and set his beer down on the table. "Good night, Vaultie," he snapped, stomping toward his room.

Leyah flinched as the door slammed shut and she stared down at the half empty beer can.

She rested her chin on the table, wondering how she managed to screw everything up no matter where she went.

* * *

><p>"You can leave now."<p>

Leyah looked up from her rifle in confusion. They were sitting on Maverick's front porch and it was early in the morning. Well, she was sitting in a chair, cleaning her rifle while he leaned on the side, smoking a cigarette.

"What?"

"Jesus, do they not teach you English in the vaults? You can leave now. You pass. Good luck."

Leyah furrowed her brow as her stomach dropped to the ground. Irritation bubbled up momentarily as she realized what was happening. That jerk, kicking me out after I asked too many questions.

The irritation quickly left when she thought about why she even stayed there in the first place. Her dad. But, go out on her own? She knew she would have to eventually. That didn't mean she had to like the fact.

Her heart started to feel heavy for a different reason. She honestly didn't want to say goodbye to Maverick.

When it seemed like her life was tumbling down around her, Maverick was the one who set her straight and gave her the backbone to move on when no one else was willing to. He became one of her few friends out in the Wasteland and she didn't want to leave him alone, even if he didn't think the same way.

He always seemed so lonely and sad when he thought she wasn't looking at him, and it broke her heart to see a man who was so willing to help others be that way.

Instead of saying all these things, the only thing she could croak out was, "Okay."

He helped her pack, giving her some of his own supplies and giving her some last minute tips. "Remember to always check your ammo and stimpak supply. You can get through any type of shit with those. Also, always make sure you have a few nonperishables at all times."

Leyah nodded as she watched him stuff the random supplies in the bag. When he finally stood up and gestured toward the door. She reluctantly stepped forward, carrying the pack.

She pushed the bag's straps over her shoulders and then slung her rifle on after them. Mustering up her courage, she stopped at the doorway and turned to him. He must have not expected her to stop because he almost ran into her.

Leyah's eyes widened when she found herself staring at his chest. She craned her neck to look up at him, meeting his hard gaze. She was surprised to see that his eyes were a mixture of blue and green, not one certain color.

He stared down at her, arching a brow. "What?"

Biting her lip, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Thank you, for everything," she mumbled, burying her face into the front of his shirt.

Her heart started to flutter when he gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He finally pushed her away. "Good luck, Vaultie. Tell your dad that Maverick Barrington said 'Hi'."

Leyah slowly nodded, hitching her rifle up a little higher on her shoulder before finally walking out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Maverick knew he was going insane.

He couldn't stop worrying about her. Did she make it to Megaton okay? Is she going to do something stupid and naïve? Will she actually fucking find James? Is she still _alive_ even?

He pondered these questions, even two weeks after she left, as he ground his teeth on his cigarette, leaning against his front door. He had put it in his mouth, intending to light it, but Vaultie kept showing up in his mind and he accidentally bit down through it in his frustration.

"Jesus, you're eating cigs now?"

Maverick quickly spat out the cigarette and glared at Silver. His neighbor had her arms crossed under her generous chest and she was tapping her foot with an irritated look pointed towards him.

"Why do you care?" he snapped, looking at the ruined house across the street.

Silver scoffed and stepped onto his porch, leaning back next to him. "I've never seen you this high strung before. What's going on?"

Maverick glared at her before looking at the house across the street again.

"It's Leyah, isn't it? I liked her too. She was nicer than you and she actually seemed to give a damn when she talked to us, unlike those other strays you take in."

_Yes, she did_, Maverick thought, thinking about how she kept trying to get to know him. Maverick avoided situations like that for many reasons. Vaultie did genuinely care about people though, and that could either get her killed or worse.

"Yeah, and it was annoying. She'll probably die if she keeps that shit up," he grumbled, tossing the rest of his ruined cigarette away. For some reason he could not pinpoint exactly, his stomach rolled uncomfortably at the idea of Vaultie lying dead on the ground somewhere.

Silver scrunched her nose up in annoyance. "Christ Maverick, just go to Megaton and see how she's doing if you're so worried."

Maverick stiffened at the thought. Go to Megaton? Well…he did have some stuff he could sell to the various shop owners there- No!

"You're fucking crazy," he snorted, turning to go back inside.

"God damn, Leyah was right. You do push people away," Silver quipped, turning on her heel back toward her house.

Maverick sighed angrily, glaring up at the top of his porch. _No, I can't let it happen again._

The last time he was close to people, they only got hurt and he suffered for it. But, the girl was naïve. And a do-gooder. That was never a good combination for survival.

He also recalled the last thing he said before she left. _'__Tell your Dad I said 'Hi'.' You're so fucking lame, Maverick_ he growled to himself. He thought about what James did for his sister, Rachel, many years ago, and how the scientist's actions saved her life.

Thinking back on it, he never got the chance to tell the scientist how grateful he was back then. And Vaultie's do-good ways reminded him of his sister in an almost painful way. If Leyah died, that almost seemed like Rachel was dead too.

An idea stuck in his mind and he finally made the decision. He was going to find Vaultie and he was going to help her find James whether she liked it or not. Rachel would have wanted him to do that.

He let out a low growl of frustration as he stomped inside and started shoving various things he scavenged in a bag.

Thank Christ Megaton wasn't that far away.

* * *

><p>And it was still the piece of shit Maverick recalled it being. His lip curled at the sheets of metal that were responsible for its shitty appearance.<p>

"Vaultie, you better not be dead," he growled under his breath, walking through the main gate. Maverick looked around and stared at the bomb at the bottom on the hill. There weren't many things that made Maverick uneasy in this world, but that bomb was one of the few things that did.

"Well well, if it isn't Maverick," a deep voice declared.

Maverick looked away from the bomb toward the owner of the voice, mouth turning up into a smirk. "Hello Sheriff, or is it Mayor right now?"

Simms was one of the few people that didn't piss Maverick off in this town; seeing him helped him calm down…barely.

"Sheriff at the moment. Did you hear the good news?" Simms asked, smiling broadly.

"Good news exists? I've gotta hear this," Maverick snorted. What the hell could Simms possibly have that's good?

"That bomb down there is disarmed. Some little vault girl marched right in and disarmed it about a week ago."

Maverick's heart leapt at the mention of a 'vault girl'. "What vault girl?"

Simms scratched under his hat. "Well, she walked in about a month ago asking about her Dad…I think she had just stumbled from the vault then. She went up to Moriarty's. I warned her about him but she didn't listen and-"

"That's a nice story," Maverick interrupted, "but where is she now?"

Simms narrowed his eyes at the taller man. "Now why would you want to know? If I recall, you can't stand people. She's a resident here now and I don't want you causing any trouble with her."

Maverick rolled his eyes. "Lucas, who do you think taught her how to disarm a damn bomb in the first place?" _Jesus Vaultie, what have you been up to?_

"I thought that was you. She said she learned some tricks from a crabby man in Springvale. Fits you perfectly, now doesn't it?" Simms frowned. "Hold on, are you telling me you knew how to disarm a nuclear bomb?"

"Jesus Christ, no. I stay away from those things. I only taught her about mines and traps."

"She's either really lucky or really smart then because that thing is not a problem now."

Maverick wanted to shake the man. While he was happy and a little proud of Vaultie for disarming the damn thing, he wanted to know where she was. "Where is Leyah?" he asked. The sooner he found her, the sooner he could help her find her dad and he could finally say what he wanted to say to him.

"I saw her walking up to Moira's earlier. You might want to ask her."

Oh great, now he had to talk to one of the many people that did piss him off.

"Thanks Lucas," he said, reluctantly making his way toward Moira's shop.

"It's about time one of your strays wiggled under your skin," Simms chuckled, walking away.

Maverick glared at the man over his shoulder. Sure, he helped a lot of people in the past. Teaching them how to shoot and take care of a gun, what was and what wasn't poisonous. All that jazz. Vaultie though…she stuck around the longest out of all the strays he took in. He taught her things he didn't even bother teaching the others.

Shaking the thought out of his head, he quickly started to make his way toward the store again.

Maverick instantly felt pissed when he saw a man glaring at him right away. He curled his lip at the asshole and walked over to the counter, where Moira was fiddling around with what looked like a stick with some green crap on the end.

The red-head looked up from her work with a beaming smile. "Well whataya know! It's one of my favorite customers. What do you have for me this time, Maverick?"

Maverick quickly did his business with her, making sure to get some stimpaks and ammo before asking the billion cap question. "Did a girl wearing a vault jumpsuit stop by here recently?" he asked, counting his remaining caps before sticking them into his pouch. He would have to wrap them later.

"Oh! You mean Leyah? She's the greatest! She agreed to help me with my book. Isn't that fantastic? I-"

"Moira!"

"Yes?"

Maverick pinched the bridge of his nose. This was why she pissed him off. "Look, I know how she is. She goes out of her way for people. Now, where is she now? Do you know?"

Moira gave him a blank stare before smirking at him. "You're the one that gave her the rifle, aren't you? I always enjoy seeing your strays come in here."

"Moira," Maverick warned, giving her a hard look.

"Oh right! You're looking for her. Well, I saw her head towards the bar earlier. I think she and Gob have become good friends. He might know where she is."

"Thank you," Maverick sighed. Jesus, that took forever.

If Maverick remembered Megaton being a piece of shit, Moriarty's bar was no exception and it won the fucking award.

Maverick looked around as he walked in, feeling frustrated when he didn't see the familiar blonde ponytail anywhere. He walked up to the bar and sat down. Buying a drink always led to information here.

"Wow, long time no see Maverick," Gob's gravelly voice exclaimed.

Maverick met the ghoul's eyes and nodded. "You too. Being treated like shit still?"

Gob sighed and set a glass of vodka in front of him. "Nothing's changed since your last visit."

"Gob, remember that little piece of advice I gave you a little while back? Use it," Maverick retorted, taking a swig of the vodka and setting some caps down on the table.

Gob's eyes widened and he vigorously shook his head. "Oh no, I can't do that! I'll get run out of Megaton if I did! Not to mention that Moriarty has been in an extra bad mood lately so I wouldn't have a chance."

Maverick perked up at that. Moriarty was usually in a bad mood when he was drunk or if he got cheated out of some money. "And why's that?"

"A girl from the Vault-she's really nice but I was surprised to hear this- she told Moriarty that she took care of Silver in Springvale a couple weeks ago and paid him caps for info. Apparently she lied and Silver is alive."

No shit, Maverick thought, holding back a satisfied smirk. He knew Vaultie had a lot of spunk and she was the last thing from dumb. She must have played Moriarty like a fiddle if he was pissed off. "Where is she now, Gob?"

Gob narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to hurt her are ya?"

Maverick almost growled in frustration. "Now why would I want to do that Gob?"

Gob's eyes suddenly widened and his mouth dropped open. "She said she got that rifle from someone nearby! I forgot you helped people like that. Sorry, she mentioned something about running an errand for Moira before heading toward the Galaxy News Radio station this morning."

"What in the hell is she doing for Moria?" Maverick suddenly remembered something Moira mentioned earlier. "Don't tell me she's helping with that damn survival guide."

"Uh, yeah. I think she's heading toward the RobCo factory."

"Shit," Maverick cursed, setting his glass down. Getting up, he tossed about 20 caps to the ghoul. "Thanks Gob, you just helped me out big time. I'll remember this."

Gob stared at the extra caps in surprise. "Maverick, why do you always-"

"Because I know Moriarty pays you shit. Don't question it," Maverick argued, already walking toward the door. Unfortunately, his least favorite person in Megaton happened to be walking in right as he reached for the doorknob.

Colin Moriarty's thin lips instantly drew up into a smirk at the sight of Maverick. "Well now, if it isn't our favorite babysitter," he drawled, closing the door behind him.

Maverick was having none of it today. "Fuck off." He sidestepped the bar owner and reached for the door.

"Maverick, do you happen to know how Silver is doing? I sent someone out there about a month ago and I never got word."

Gritting his teeth, Maverick looked over his shoulder and he saw Gob waving his arms and shaking his head in an almost comical manner behind his boss' back. "Why do you want to know? So you can fuck her six ways to Sunday again?"

Moriarty's mouth turned down into a scowl. "Look, I know you know what's going on. You tell that Vault girl that she better watch her back from now on. She's getting off easy this time because she's James' kid."

That was it. The combination of being in Megaton in general, Moira's rambling, and Moriarty's shit caused Maverick's temper to finally boil over. He whipped around and grabbed Moriarty's collar before throwing him against the door. He pressed his forearm against the asshole's neck and leaned in close. "Let me make this clear so that your piss poor mind can fucking understand. Touch her. Do anything to hurt her, and I will rip you a new asshole myself. And you know I will," he threatened in as even of a tone he could manage.

Moriarty had met his gaze brazenly at first, but he quickly looked away when Maverick's glare didn't waver.

Maverick snorted in disgust and let the bar owner drop to a heap on the floor. He looked over his shoulder at Gob again and nodded with a small smile. He stepped over Moriarty and opened the door, giving the bar owner one last glare before finally stepping out the door.

* * *

><p>Leyah's breath came out in nervous puffs as she peered over the large boulders she was hiding behind. She could see the large RobCo letters on the side of the building about 600 feet away. What kept her from walking right up to it was the large group of men standing in front of it. From the little pieces of armor Maverick had shown her, she could tell they were slavers.<p>

The Vault dweller was slowly becoming impatient and was wondering when the men would leave. She wanted to get this errand for Moira done as quickly as possible so she could head toward the Galaxy News Radio station as soon as she could.

Those asshole slavers were making that goal impossible.

She stiffened when she heard a light crunch of a boot hitting gravel behind her. She readjusted her rifle in her grip, trying to act like she didn't hear. When she heard another crunch, she quickly pivoted around and raised the gun up, only to let out a light gasp of surprise.

Maverick held up his hands with a wry smirk. "Well, you got better at listening, I'll give you that."

Leyah rolled her eyes and brought her rifle down, hitting the safety button. "What the hell, Maverick? What are you doing here?"

The tall man shrugged and squatted down beside her, looking down at the group of slavers. "I was thinking about the debt I owe your dad, and I figured just teaching you some basics wasn't enough. I'm helping you find him. Now, what do you see down there?"

Leyah scowled at him. Okay, so he basically tossed her out on her ass saying 'Good luck' and now he wants to help her again? "So you're not going to get butt hurt if I ask questions this time?" she jabbed, turning back around. Now she remembered, she was supposed to be irritated with him.

In all honesty, she was glad he was there. During the couple weeks she spent learning from him, he proved to be a damn super soldier. But, her irritation told her to ignore that fact for now. "Don't think I'm not mad at you still just because you're here now. You basically kicked me out and-"

Maverick rolled his eyes. "Look Vaultie, I'll argue with you about this after we get done with whatever Moira wants you to do. Now, answer my damn question."

Leyah scoffed and gestured toward the factory. "There's a group of slavers down there, from what their weapons and armor looks like. I can't really tell how many or if they have slaves with them or not."

A tired sigh left Maverick's mouth. "Shit, we'll have to wait this one out. From what I can tell there's about 10 of them down there and we won't get out unscathed with that number. Unless," he paused and looked at her, "you have one of the other things that can solve any problem."

Leyah's eyes widened. She had a small pouch of frag grenades in her pack and she could immediately see what he was hinting at. "I do. But how do you want to do this? Should we climb on the roof and see what happens or-"

"No, the roof is too tall. It'll explode in the air if we tried."

"So what do we do?"

Maverick hummed in thought before his eyes widened and he pushed down on the top of her head. "Get down!" he whispered harshly, ducking down himself.

Leyah grunted in surprise and did what she was told, holding her breath in fear. She looked up and suddenly realized how close she was to him. In his haste to get her to duck, she somehow slipped underneath his arm and was now almost pressed up against his side. His eyes scanned the area behind them, narrowing as he checked the horizon for any other enemies. If she didn't realize how big he was compared to her then, she sure did now.

Her heart started to thud in fear as a cold sweat broke out on her skin.

Maverick slowly sat up straighter and peered over the rock again. "Fuck, they saw us. I'm going to get my rifle out. You cover me. Got it?"

Leyah's heart was threatening to burst out of her chest and her stomach rolled uncomfortably now. She didn't have to kill anyone these past two weeks. The occasional radscorpion and mole rat, yes. Humans; nope.

Maverick quickly reached into his pack and started to assemble a high powered rifle. Leyah stared in surprise when he had it ready in what seemed like seconds. He nodded at her and set up the gun. "Remember what I taught you. Then you can bug me with annoying questions all you fucking want."

For some reason, his sarcastic comment caused the anxiety she was feeling to calm down a bit and she nodded. She was determined to find her Dad. Picking on Maverick was just a plus. Before she could get turned around even, he was already aiming toward the couple scouts heading toward them.

Maverick shot and Leyah peered around the boulder to see the first scout fall. She brought her own assault rifle up and took aim, feeling queasy as she pulled the trigger. She flinched as she second scout fell with a shout. Her stomach twisted and she felt physically sick as she stared at the body.

"Here they come. Reload now," Maverick ordered calmly, doing just that.

His calm tone helped focus her mind and she quickly followed orders, easily slipping in a new set of bullets. The slavers were now taking cover behind boulders and cars themselves. Luckily, they didn't see where their first shots came from.

"I'm going to try to hit the gas tank on some of those cars. Keep gunning them down when they get too close."

_How is he so calm right now_? Leyah momentarily wondered. She wanted to run for the hills and get away from the slavers, not stick around and get shot. But, there he was, calmly and carefully aiming his sniper rifle and easily hitting his targets.

Shaking the thought out of her mind, she peered around the boulder again, lightly gasping when she saw a couple slavers start running toward them. _Just think of them as radroaches or something,_ she thought, feeling sick again. The idea didn't help her mentally, but it made pulling the trigger easier.

She yelped when the shrill sound of bullets hitting stone reached her ears and she quickly hid behind the boulder again. Well, at least she got the two slavers running toward them before she hid.

"Sit tight, Vaultie," Maverick suddenly growled, standing up straight.

"Are you nuts?!"

He shot and quickly ducked down again, reloading the rifle. "You might want to cover your ears," he said, standing up again.

Leyah opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but the sound of his gun and the explosion that immediately followed it beat her to the punch. She squeaked and covered her head when bits of debris and metal started to fall around them.

She slowly opened her eyes many moments later to see Maverick's smirk looking down at her. "Coast is clear, Vaultie."

They both cautiously stood up and slowly looked around. When it seemed that no more slavers were going to pop out of nowhere, they finally left their hiding spot.

Maverick's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the landscape again before grunting in satisfaction. "Well, that's about 10 pieces of shit gone from this world," he grumbled.

Leyah narrowed her own eyes at him and her irritation from earlier started to bubble up again. As he knelt down to begin to take the sniper rifle apart, she walked over and stood in front of him, crossing her arms with a huff. "Well, now that that's over, I can yell at you now. Seriously? What the hell are you doing here? You obviously stated that I didn't need your help anymore a couple weeks ago and I was doing just fine!"

"Until you got here."

Leyah rolled her eyes with a snort. "Oh please, I was going to wait them out and I would have been fine. Why do you want to help again in the first place? Last I checked you wanted nothing to do with me anymore."

Maverick sighed and looked up at her with a hard stare. "Look, Vaultie, I don't care if you want my help or not. I've decided to make this personal. And, there's nothing you can do about it."

Rubbing her eyes in faint shock, she gasped. "President Eden, is that you? I didn't know you actually left the Enclave to boss people around," Leyah retorted, putting her hands on her hips.

Maverick stiffened and Leyah had to use all over her willpower to stand her ground as he stood up and towered over her. Craning her neck to look up at him, she made the best stink face she could. "You don't want my help? Fine. I'll just follow you and just sit and watch whenever you get your little ass in trouble, be my guest."

Leyah stuck her lip out in a pout and furrowed her brow. "I'm not mad that you want to help, idiot."

With a scoff, he stuffed his rifle into his pack. "Oh please. Don't tell me you want me to apologize or something."

Crossing her arms, Leyah began to tap her foot in impatience, frowning at him.

"You're fucking serious, aren't you?"

"Very. Now, just admit that you threw me out and we'll call it good."

He stared at her in disbelief before letting out a guffaw. "Nice try, Vaultie."

Leyah's mouth pinched into a hard line as she stared at him in disbelief. He started to walk away and she took that opportunity to get through to him the only way she knew how. She hooked her foot around his ankle and pulled, effectively causing him to lose his balance.

He cursed and did what she knew he would do. He instantly recovered and got in a fighting stance. "What the fuck?!"

"You won't listen to words! I'm doing the only other thing I can," she snapped.

"Good luck. I know all your tricks."

It was true, so she took his very first lesson to heart. Strike first; strike hard. Leyah sighed and tried to relax, getting out of her fighting stance.

"That's what I thought," he snorted, moving to turn away.

Leyah instantly reared her arm back and couldn't help but feel satisfied when her punch successfully connected with his jaw. She didn't hesitate to land a jab to his ribs before shoving him over. Before he could recover and get up, she pulled out her pistol and aimed it at him.

They glared at each other for many moments before Leyah scoffed and said, "That's what I thought."

She holstered her pistol and started to stomp toward RobCo, not even bothering to look back.

* * *

><p><em>What the actual fuck?<em> Maverick cursed to himself.

It had been years, literally years, since someone handed his ass to him like that. He quickly got up and growled in frustration. She wanted an apology? He'll give her a fucking apology.

"Vaultie, wait!"

The damn girl just kept walking and he grit his teeth, picking up his pace. "Leyah," he said, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.

"What?!" she seethed, glaring up at him.

Maverick met her gaze and he sighed. "Look, we can argue about this all we want, but have you ever considered that I don't get personal because-" He paused and looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. "I don't get personal because talking about my past hurts. It always will. That's why I kicked you out and I'm sorry. Can we get going now?"

He looked away, avoiding her eyes as he walked toward the entrance to the factory.

"Why didn't you just say so?"

He paused and looked at her over his shoulder. Vaultie rolled her eyes with an amused grin. "Jeez Mav, if you just told me that it hurts to talk about it, I would have shut up. I'm not stupid."

"Don't call me Mav," Maverick growled. Only his sister got to call him that and get away with it.

Vaultie caught up to him and started to walk by his side. "I mean, yeah I wanted to know more about you but I thought you were just being stubborn. I would have completely understood if-"

Maverick eventually tuned her out as she kept rambling on. He looked down at her, wondering why he wasn't getting annoyed like he usually would. _Something's wrong with me_, he mused, finally telling her to shut up.

They reached the main entrance and they were both mildly surprised to find it unlocked. "Vaultie, what the fuck are you doing here anyway?" Maverick asked, peering around the edge of the doorway.

"Oh! Moira wanted to write a little about technology so she gave me this processor widget to connect to the mainframe. It shouldn't be too hard."

Maverick sighed and opened the door all the way. "Whatever, let's get this over with."

Vaultie nodded and held up her rifle, stepping inside. She scanned the room and slowly made her way forward, just like he taught her.

He knew she wasn't a lost cause.

* * *

><p>Hacking the mainframe and actually connecting the widget was a little harder than Leyah thought it would be, but she didn't let that deter her. She was able to reset the robots orders to kill all the radroaches and mole rats though, which was a plus.<p>

She turned away from the mainframe, feeling satisfied. It was short lived as Maverick grabbed her left arm and pulled her toward him. "Hey-"

"Quiet."

Leyah rolled her eyes as he examined her Pip-boy and looked at the time.

"Shit, it's that late already. We're not going anywhere tonight."

Leyah frowned and looked at the time herself with a groan. Making their way through the factory took longer than she expected. By the time they got back out again, it would be dark and Leyah learned the downsides of traveling at night during her first couple days in the wasteland.

Maverick suddenly poked her cheek and Leyah slapped his hand away in annoyance. She was also surprised that the little touch hurt a little. "What?!"

"You're sunburnt. I thought there were lights that mimicked the sun down in the Vaults," he stated, setting his pack down.

"Well, yeah, but they didn't cause sunburns," Leyah grumbled, tentatively touching her face.

She looked at Maverick and arched a brow when she saw him digging through his pack. "You know Vaultie, I'm starting to think all of the Vaults are big holes for crazy people after all you've told me. Well, at least the ones that are still functional are."

Setting her own pack down, she gave him a questioning look as she sat beside him. "What do you mean? How many Vaults are around here?"

Maverick waved the question off. "A lot. Trust me, you don't want to go in those. I made the mistake of trying to scav in one a little north of downtown a long time ago. Bad idea."

Leyah pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "What happened?"

He sighed, giving her a weary look. "It looked like a war-zone. I wouldn't be surprised if the other's looked the same."

Leyah stiffened with a quick inhale. "You mean…the people turned on each other?"

"Yeah, that's what I got from the carnage and holotapes."

With a shudder, Leyah wondered what could have happened if the people in 101 turned on each other. Sure, she fought her way out of the Vault, but she didn't kill anyone in the process. She couldn't imagine a full blown conflict down there.

Shaking the thoughts away, Leyah moved to help Maverick set up traps in front of the door and the hallway. After those were set, Maverick easily shoved a filing cabinet and a desk in front of the door after shutting it. She wondered what it must be like to have that strength as she watched him get them situated the way he wanted.

Leyah set out her bedroll and plopped down onto it, suddenly feeling all the weariness from today starting to settle in. "Get some sleep. It will be a trek to get to GNR tomorrow."

"Maverick?" she asked, lying down.

"What?"

"Is it okay if we stop by the Arlington Library before going further into the ruins? I have another errand to run for Moira there and it's on the way, right?"

Maverick gave her an even stare before grinning and letting out a snort of laughter. "Vaultie, I'm following you now. I go where you go," he said, laying down his own bedroll.

Leyah couldn't help but grin as she turned over.

She was happy he was there.


	3. Chapter 3

Maverick was still wondering why he said what he did the next day when they walked out into the pale morning light. _I go where you go? What are you, a fucking dog?_ he asked himself, keeping a little distance between him and Leyah. He made sure to keep watching the horizon, feeling tense. Yao guai were known to live around here and he be damned if he let one sneak up on them.

To give her credit, she also had her head on a swivel as she kept on her toes as well. He saw how pink her face was getting and he sighed and reached into the side pocket of his pack. Pulling out the hat, he glanced at it and then back at her before letting out a shrill whistle. "Vaultie."

Leyah turned and let out a gasp when the hat hit her face. She caught it before it could hit the ground and she stared at it.

Maverick kept walking. "It's to keep your sunburn from getting worse."

"Thanks Mav."

"Quit calling me that."

"I can call you what I want. We're friends now."

She caught up to him and Maverick gave her a hard look when she fell into step beside him. She returned his hard look with a soft grin, plopping the hat on her head. He stopped in his tracks and she stopped with him. They stared at each other for many moments before Maverick finally felt a grin creep up on his lips. "Friends, huh?"

"Yup. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Her grey-blue eyes held mirth in them as she gently punched his shoulder and kept walking, hitching her pack up higher as her pace picked up.

Maverick stared at her, wondering how the hell she could manage to be this happy after all that had happened to her. _How do you keep smiling?_

Deciding to ponder it another time, Maverick took his place behind her and kept moving.

Arlington library was just showing up on the horizon by the time the sun was high in the sky and Maverick was actually pleased with their progress. It wasn't even 11 o' clock and they were already halfway to their destination. If Leyah's errand didn't take too long, they could be at GNR before sundown.

His mood was also lightened because no Raiders had decided to ruin his day so far and the only things he and Leyah came across were the occasional radscorpion or mole rat.

Leyah's lip stuck out in a small pout as she stared up at the tall building. "So this is the library, huh? I hope the archives are easy to get to."

Maverick groaned. "Vaultie, don't say that."

"Why?"

"Because the opposite of what you say usually happens. Don't jinx us."

Leyah rolled her eyes and marched right up to the door. Maverick quickly stepped forward and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Let me go first. Raiders like buildings like this."

Thankfully, she just nodded and stepped back instead of arguing, taking her rifle off her shoulder.

Maverick slowly opened the door, shotgun in hand and peered inside. What he saw made him want to run for the hills. It was too late to turn back when one of the men in the power armor raised his laser rifle. "Halt! Who are you?"

_Fuck._

Maverick knew there was no point in running; there was most likely a patrol nearby so he raised his hands and kicked open the door the rest of the way. "Don't be a smartass. I'll talk," he growled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Who is it?"

"The Brotherhood of Steel. Now, be quiet!"

He stiffened when he felt her small hand grab at his shirt.

"Maverick, seriously I-"

"We'll get out of this if you let me talk. It's going to be okay." Their gazes met momentarily and she nodded, but her grip on his shirt tightened. A wave of protectiveness threatened to crush him as the action reminded him of when Rachel was younger and he was determined to get her out of this now. He doubted the Brotherhood even remembered him, but he was ready if need be.

They slowly walked forward and Maverick gave the Brotherhood of Steel Knight a hard glare. "Relax, we're just travelers looking for stuff to scavenge. Nothing more."

The Knight turned to the other Brotherhood members in the room. "It's just civilians. Stand down."

Maverick looked around the main room of the library and he stiffened. Most of the Brotherhood members in the room were not even Knights, they were Initiates. He could tell from the very way they stood and held their weapons. This was unacceptable.

Remembering that he had to keep his mouth shut and not make them angry, he stepped forward, following the Knight further into the room. Leyah's grip on his shirt only tightened and he wondered if she even knew who the Brotherhood was.

His whole body tensed when he saw a familiar face striding toward them from behind the desk.

"Maverick?" Amanda Yearling gestured to all of the soldiers in the room. "Stand down, he's more than a civilian."

She finally reached Maverick and he was shocked when she held out her hand. "It's good to see you again," she said, grinning up at him.

The Knight stepped forward. "Scribe Yearling we-"

"Quiet," she snapped, giving the Knight a hard look.

Maverick's eyes widened. "Scribe now, huh?"

"Yeah, and Rach is a Paladin."

Maverick's heart clenched at the sound of his sister's name. A small tug on his shirt suddenly reminded him that Leyah was standing right next to him.

_Shit._

"Mav, how do you know these people?"

Yearling gave her an incredulous look and Maverick wasn't quick enough to stop her from saying, "He used to be a Sentinel among our men. He led the Lyon's pride for years."

* * *

><p>_<p>

Leyah couldn't believe it. She knew Maverick had to have had formal training somewhere. She never expected it to be from the Brotherhood of Steel though. She didn't know much about the group, but she knew they had power in the wasteland. Looking up at him with wide eyes, she exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew you were hiding something!"

"Yippee Vaultie, you discovered my dark secret."

"You used to be part of the Brotherhood of Steel! It all makes sense now!"

Leyah was now waving her hands in excitement as a million questions started to spill out of her mouth. "Did you grow up with the Brotherhood or did you just join? What's the Lyon's Pride? Is Sentinel a really high rank? Is that why you know so much about-"

Maverick clamped a hand down on her mouth, leaning down to meet her at eye level. For some reason, her heart started to flutter at the contact. "I promise to answer some of those questions after we get your damn archives. Now shut up."

Scribe Yearling's gaze went from Maverick to Leyah and back to Maverick in disbelief as he pulled away. "Who is this Maverick?"

"I'm his friend," Leyah quickly said. Maverick seemed to not want her to know more for some reason. "Leyah Hunter."

She ignored Maverick's groan and smiled at the woman.

"How did you meet Maverick?"

"Well, I was being chased by Raiders and he saved me. I also had a Rad-Cold and-"

Maverick's heavy hand on her shoulder caused her to pause and look up at him. "Look, Amanda, long story short; I saved her ass and I'm helping her out with other stuff." He gave her a warning look and Leyah opened her mouth to retort, but his eyes hardened even more and Leyah rolled her eyes.

Scribe Yearling was looking at them with an amused look. "Alright, what brings you two to Arlington?"

"I'd ask you the same thing," Maverick answered, arching a brow.

Scribe Yearling then gave a long winded speech about how important Pre-war books were and how she was trying to find them. Leyah nodded and made positive noises when needed, but she was totally focused on something else. Why didn't Maverick tell her about the Brotherhood of Steel? And, the more important question kept rising up in her mind.

Why wasn't he with them anymore if he had such a high rank?

* * *

><p>_<p>

It took every ounce of Maverick's willpower to keep from looking at Leyah. He knew she was curious and he also knew she would never leave him alone until he did tell her.

Deciding to finally get away from the members of the Brotherhood, Maverick finally cut in. "Scribe Yearling, where are the card catalogs and the archive?"

Scribe Yearling tapped her chin with a sigh. "Well, the card catalog can be accessed at the terminal at the desk. The archives are on the third floor. But, there's one problem."

Maverick tensed up. "What problem?"

Scribe Yearling actually looked sheepish. "Well, there are a group of Raiders that took over the library. We only just recently liberated this part of the building."

Of course there were fucking Raiders.

He looked down at Leyah, who looked deep in thought now. "What do you say, Vaultie?"

Leyah's brow furrowed as she thought about it before letting out a sigh. "Well…I wanted those archives. I was going to make a copy of them for myself so I could have all that information to use later on."

Maverick's eyes widened momentarily. Holy fuck. He never thought about using the archives that way. Then again, he didn't have a –what did she call it?- Pip-Boy. He tapped her forearm. "You can get the archives on your doohickey here?"

"Of course."

Turning toward the Knight that greeted them in the first place, he asked, "What's the situation on the rest of the building?"

He gestured to Leyah and pointed toward the computer. She got the message and headed toward it for the card catalogs. Scribe Yearling followed behind.

The Knight scoffed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell that information to civilians. It's to keep you safe. I don't care if you were a Sentinel or not."

Maverick almost punched the tin man right in the face. "Look, Dick –can I call you Dick?- I don't have time for that bullshit. Either you tell me now or I'll just force one of your Initiates here to tell me instead. And let me tell you, that would be about as fun as dancing with a Centaur."

He stepped closer to the Knight. "Well?"

Maverick could tell the man was rolling his eyes behind his helmet when he finally answered. Maybe it was the amount of sarcasm that was rolling off him that gave it away.

"Even if you did get up to the second floor, there are small groups of Raiders hiding on each floor in each wing. The main wing is compromised as well."

"Give me numbers dammit, or do you even have those?"

"No, we don't have those."

"What type of Knight are you? Jesus Christ," Maverick snapped, walking toward the small group of Initiates standing near the entryway toward the back of the library. Maybe the kids knew more than their supervisor.

The clicking of many different sets of power armor standing to attention rang throughout the hall and Maverick stared at the group of kids incredulously as one of them saluted. "What the-"

"My name is Initiate Johnson sir and my father served with you," a slightly familiar voice said from the helmet.

Maverick blinked in surprise before narrowing his eyes at the Initiate in front of him. "Who's your dad?"

"Paladin Ryan Johnson, sir. He retired from the Lyon's Pride shortly after you were dismissed."

Even though his stomach was curdling at the mention of being 'dismissed', Maverick couldn't help but grin. Ryan Johnson was one of his closest friends in the Brotherhood. "Well Initiate Johnson, are you good at scouting? Your dad was the best damn scout I ever met."

"Yes, sir."

"I need your help then."

* * *

><p>Leyah mentally cheered when the card catalog finally downloaded to her Pip-boy. Looking around the room, she finally found Maverick's tall frame standing near a bunch of Brotherhood men…or women. She couldn't really tell with all that armor.<p>

Slowly making her way over, she pondered how to get Maverick to tell her his story. She knew it had to be painful for him, and she didn't want to upset him any more than he probably was. Biting her lip, she almost let out a sigh of defeat. She never was good at stuff like this.

"So is it true you were called the Lion of the Lyon's Pride?"

"My dad told me so much about you."

"Elder Lyons still mentions you sometimes you know."

Leyah halted in her tracks and tried to listen in on the conversation.

"Shit, they told you about the Lion thing? I thought it was fuckin' stupid to be honest," Maverick grumbled.

One of the soldiers in front of him nodded vigorously. "Yeah, my dad said it was your nickname because of how you led the Pride. He also said you had the makings of being the next Elder or something."

Maverick tilted his head back with a bark of laughter. "Your dad is full of crap, kid. I would have made the shittiest elder out there. As for the nickname bullshit, I never liked it and I better not hear you calling me that."

Leyah decided it was finally time to make her presence known with a sly grin. "Lion of the Lyon's Pride, huh? Maybe I can call you that instead of Mav," she joked, walking up to his side.

His hard look and frown was enough to make her giggle. For some reason, she thought it was funny when he was irritated now.

"Call me either and you'll really see how I think about that, Vaultie," he growled, looking toward the soldiers again. "By the way, we're in luck. These Initiates told us they would help us with our Raider problem. Think we can show them a thing or two?"

Leyah looked up at him with an incredulous look. "Are you sure? I'm sure we can wait it out until-"

"Vaultie, the Raiders are never going to leave because they know the Brotherhood wants this place and they love pissing people off. It's now or never."

Leyah sighed and looked at the Initiates. "Thank you for offering. I appreciate it," she said, forcing a smile to her face. She really didn't want to put anyone in danger.

Maverick grunted in approval and looked at the Initiates again. "Alright, so we're going to use the Red method. I hope they still teach you that in training."

* * *

><p>_-<p>

Maverick loved using the Red method. It usually involved drawing the enemy out into a trap and heavy firing from their side. The Initiates were surprisingly competent and they followed his orders to the T. He was actually surprised at himself for remembering how to be a leader of a group like this.

It has been eight years after all.

About 20 minutes after they left the main hall, they all found themselves on the third floor and Leyah was in the process of downloading and copying the archives. There were no casualties on their side and there was plenty to scavenge from the Raiders' supplies.

Maverick leaned on the wall next to the desk she was sitting at, watching the Initiates interact with each other on the other side of the room.

"Do you miss it?"

Maverick stared at Leyah for a moment before shrugging. Dammit, might as well get the tough questions out of the way. "It had its ups and downs. But, yeah, I miss it like hell."

She studied him for a moment before grinning. "I can tell. You're acting happier."

Maverick arched a brow at her before pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. "I'm never happy, Vaultie."

"You were when you talked to those guys," she mentioned, gesturing to the Initiates.

For once, Maverick had no smart retort for her. Instead, he let out a soft bark of laughter before lighting his cigarette. Blowing out some smoke, he turned to her again. "Why aren't you interrogating me about it right now?"

She shrugged and typed in more things on the terminal. "I decided I'd rather hear about it on your own terms."

Maverick wanted to call her out on her bullshit, but a feeling in his gut told him that she really meant what she said and he usually trusted his gut. He stared at her for a moment, wondering what to make of the Vault Dweller. _Maybe I was wrong about her_, he thought. He thought she would do her normal prying and persistently try to get something out of him like she did in the past.

"Thanks…Leyah."

She whipped her head around and stared up at him in surprise before a broad grin spread on her lips. "Hey, you called me Leyah."

"Yeah. So?"

"I knew it. You think we're friends too."

"Don't push it, Vaultie."

Her soft laugh was his only answer and Maverick was surprised to feel a warm feeling beginning to bloom in his chest because of the sound.

* * *

><p>_<p>

"Hey Vaultie, what Metro station gets us to Chevy Chase the fastest? I usually go to one up north but we don't have time for that."

Leyah grumbled as she scanned her Pip-boy map. A few of the settlers in Megaton were able to point out some metro entrances on her map, but that didn't mean they were accurate. "Well, there's the Farragut West station nearby. Moira told me to avoid that one though."

Maverick gave her an incredulous look. "Why?"

"She said feral ghouls were down there and I don't ever want to see one of those."

He gave her a blank stare for a moment, halting in his tracks before snickers started to escape from his lips. "I hate to tell you this, but it doesn't matter what part of the Metro you're in. You're going to see feral ghouls, Super Mutants, or some shit like that."

Leyah let out a groan, letting her shoulders sag a little. She had seen pictures people had drawn of feral ghouls, and Gob had explained the process a little when she had asked about it. She also wanted to avoid the Metros for one, particular big reason.

"Are you sure we can't get into the city without the Metro?"

Maverick gave her a look that said 'Seriously?'

"What?!"

"Vaultie, you're not telling me something."

"I just don't see the point if there is a better way."

Maverick halted in his tracks, putting his hands on his hips. Leyah could see him bite the inside of his cheek in irritation. "You went in a Metro alone, didn't you?"

Leyah shrugged sheepishly. After dealing with the fire ant problem in Grayditch, Leyah never wanted to see a metro tunnel or an ant ever again.

"Do you remember one of the first things I told you?"

Letting out a sigh, Leyah looked up to meet his hard, even gaze. "There is always going to be danger, the difference is whether you learn to face them head on or die in a piss puddle," she quoted, arching a brow. She crossed her arms before adding, "Eloquent as always."

"What would you have remembered better; the piss puddle or a long winded speech?"

Leyah opened her mouth to argue, but her voice died in her throat. She hated it when he was right.

Maverick snorted, resting his shot gun on his shoulder. He started to walk toward the Arlington metro entrance. "You gotta admit it, Vaultie. I know my shit."

Leyah pouted, jogging to catch up with his long strides. "Yeah, teaching all those Initiates and keeping Knights in check helped out a lot didn't it?"

"You're fucking hilarious."

They made it to the entrance and Leyah had to literally gulp down the lump that was forming in her throat to breathe. Fear seemed to be spreading throughout her chest like radiation and started to make her feel heavy.

Maverick gently elbowed her before making his way down the stairs. He paused halfway and looked up at her. "You coming or what? I thought you wanted to find your dad, not stand out here."

_Right, Dad. I need to find Dad. Get a grip!_

Leyah took a deep breath, remembering her and Maverick's run in with the Raiders at RobCo._Just focus on how calm he is. Just focus on him, Leyah._

She quickly went down the steps, zeroing her eyes on Maverick's broad back. The armor on his shoulders gleamed dully in the sunlight and the ammo belt he wore would occasionally click as they made their way down the steps.

Maverick stopped in his tracks at the grated entrance, turning around and looking down at her. Leyah looked up to meet his eyes, craning her neck. She had stopped right behind him and she could feel her cheeks flush from their close proximity. She could feel the heat radiating of his body and mentally slapped herself. It was just Maverick. Why was she reacting this way?

"Remember to always look the opposite direction I'm looking and try to stay as quiet as possible. Do you have plenty of mines?"

Leyah reached around and pulled the small sack she had out of her bag. "I don't have many," she mentioned, suddenly feeling incompetent. She also wondered why she was so afraid of his disapproval now.

"That's fine, we can work around that."

He turned again and opened the door. Cocking his shotgun, he grinned at her over his shoulder. "Let's kick ass, Vaultie."

It was funny how those words made her feel less scared.


	4. Chapter 4

Maverick let out a sigh of relief when he saw the Chevy Chase entrance up ahead. Leyah did better than he expected after seeing her so hesitant before. She even saved his ass when a feral ghoul managed to get the jump on them.

Even now, he was impressed with her impeccable aim.

He looked over his shoulder at her, frowning at what he saw. Her fingers were trembling and he saw that she had bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood. She looked pale even though she was a little sunburnt.

Without saying anything, he gently grabbed her elbow and tugged her toward the ticket booth nearby. After checking for traps, he stepped in and gestured to an old chair near the window. "Sit. What time is it?"

Leyah sat down and propped her rifle up against the wall of the booth. The faint green light of her Pip-Boy cast everything in its eerie glow. "It's a little past 5."

He looked out toward the metro tunnel with a nod, scanning the darkness for any movement.

"Say it."

Maverick glanced at her before looking back out at the tunnel. "Say what?"

"That I'm being silly for being scared."

Maverick looked up at the ceiling. He remembered his first time in a metro tunnel as an Initiate. It was the worst fucking day of his life. And he was with a whole squad and he wasn't that much younger than she was now. Leyah went in all on her own.

He decided to throw her a bone.

"Wanna know what scares the shit out of me, Vaultie?"

All he got in response was a heavy sigh and a sarcastic, "Nothing?"

_Talk about fucking impressions_, Maverick laughed in his head.

"I'm scared of Deathclaws. Those things are fucking unnatural. I saw them rip apart a man in power armor once. Oh, I'm also scared of heights. Thank Christ the Pride stayed on the ground where we damn belong. And the last thing…I'm going to let you take a stab at that one."

He looked over his shoulder to see her staring at him as if he grew a third arm. The light from her Pip-Boy cast a heavy shadow on her face. "Heights? Seriously?"

"Yeah, heights. They're fucking scary. Now take a guess or I'm just going to let the last one be a mystery."

Leyah shrugged. "Will you answer even if I don't?"

"That's a chance you're going to have to take now is it?"

He held her gaze for many moments.

"Fine, what's your last one?"

"I'm scared of losing people…that was my worst fear whenever I went out on a patrol or mission," he paused and looked out at the tunnel again. "I would look at the members of the squad or the Pride and wonder 'Who will make it back?' and it was terrifying."

"Why is that? Because you care about them?"

Maverick crossed his arms, leaning his shoulder against the entryway of the booth. "Yes…and the fact that people's lives were up to chance on those missions. Anything could have happened and I didn't like not knowing what would happen."

He heard the creak of the chair and her footsteps as she walked up to him. A soft touch on his arm caused him to look down at her. He glanced at her small hand on his arm before looking at her face again.

She didn't have the sympathetic look that he was expecting. Instead, he saw understanding and…admiration?

"I know where you're going with this. And thank you for caring in the first place."

"Where am I going with this, Leyah?" Her name felt foreign in his mouth, he still had to get used to saying it, but he liked it.

"You were going to say something along the lines of 'Everyone has their damn fears, and you have to fucking face them and blah blah blah'," she lowered the pitch of her voice to mimic his toward the end and Maverick couldn't hold back a grin. Ah, she knew him so well.

"Something like that…and that it's okay to be scared. I almost shit myself my first time in the metros."

Leyah gave him an unconvinced look. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not. I was 15 and with a squad too. I used to be scared of feral ghouls."

For some reason, he was okay with telling her this shit. He hadn't been able to open up like this since he last saw his sister.

"Now you're blatantly lying."

Maverick shrugged. "Oh, so now you won't believe me when I'm spilling out the life secrets? I'm okay with that."

Their eyes met again and Maverick felt his heart start to thud in a way that he hadn't felt in years when she smiled up at him, gently curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. "Thanks, Mav. For telling me that stuff."

She thumped his shoulder before walking back to pick up her rifle. "Now, let's get out of here so we don't see what I'm scared of again."

Maverick barked out a laugh. "Oh honey, you haven't seen anything yet."

He didn't want to run into Super Mutants and Centaurs, but it was unavoidable at this part of the city. As slow as he could, he opened the entrance to Chevy Chase and he immediately felt tense. He knew the muties were nearby, he could hear their rumbling voices from where he and Leyah stood.

"Are those-"

Maverick quickly held up his hand, giving her a warning look with a nod. He cocked his shotgun and slowly crept up the stairs, staying as low as he could. Peering around the edge of the stairway entrance, Maverick cursed. Two Super Mutants were standing near a safety chamber not too far from the metro and they didn't look like they were going to move anytime soon.

"Fuck, there are two of them over there. And that usually means there's more around."

"So what do we do?"

Maverick opened his mouth to answer, but the distinct hiss of a laser rifle stopped the words in his mouth. The guttural shouts of the mutants and the sound of rifles immediately started after the lasers.

Peering around the corner again, Maverick narrowed his eyes, trying to find the source of the laser rifles. The muties were dead by then, but Maverick didn't want to take his chances. The last thing they needed was the Talon Company or Raiders jumping them.

"Stay close and watch my back. And for God's sake, don't be trigger happy and shoot my damn foot on accident."

"Since when have I been trigger happy, you jerk?!"

Maverick smirked. He was just happy that Leyah's spunk was slowly coming back.

He gestured forward and slowly crept out into the open. They silently made their way toward the jagged, concrete remains of a building. Taking a deep breath, Maverick listened closely, closing his eyes for a moment. He could hear the sound of metal hitting metal and what seemed to be four pairs of footsteps.

Leaning up against the corner, he glanced down at Leyah and held up two fingers. She nodded and quietly cocked her rifle.

The footsteps were coming closer to their corner and Maverick waited for the opportune moment. Finally, the steps were where he wanted them and he quickly whipped around the corner, pointing the barrel of his shotgun at the unlucky person who happened to be on the other end of it.

His eyes immediately saw the barrel of a laser rifle.

Flashing blue eyes widened and Maverick stiffened. _Of all the fucking people we had to run into_…

"Sentinel Lyons, we are secure," the tinny voice of another Knight said.

Sarah Lyons was exactly as Maverick remembered her. Fierce, angry, and to the point. She was only a Paladin when he was in charge of the Pride, and she was among the Pride's ranks when he was 'dismissed'. He knew she would be a good leader and he was honestly thrilled when he heard she had become the new leader of the Pride.

Now, though, she was the last person he wanted to run into.

"Maverick? What are you doing here?" she hissed, lowering her rifle.

"Gee, Sarah, good to see you too. I was going to say you were a fucking sight for sore eyes but I'm going to hold that in now," Maverick growled, lowering his shotgun.

Sarah huffed and stepped forward and Maverick stiffened as she gave him a huge hug. She stepped back again with a wry smirk. "That was for Rachel. She doesn't go outside the Citadel much anymore and she knew you were alive."

Maverick snorted. "Wow, you didn't think I could live on my own this long? Thanks for the vote of confidence, brat."

Sarah's mouth instantly turned down into a deep frown. "See, that's your problem, I almost think I can stand you for a second and then you say some shit like that."

"That's part of my charm, Sarah. I thought you knew this." Maverick paused and looked at Leyah, who was snickering as she leaned up against the wall. He frowned at her. "What's so funny, Vaultie?"

Leyah shrugged and stepped from behind the corner, resting her rifle on her shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't put up with your shit either."

Sarah's brows furrowed. "Who is this?"

"I'm Leyah Hunter. Mav and I are trying to get to the GNR station."

Maverick elbowed Leyah. "What have I told you about calling me that?"

"We've discussed this. I can call you whatever I please."

Their gazes met and Maverick didn't feel the familiar irritation form from the nickname. Leyah smirked and Maverick rolled his eyes.

"As much as I would love to watch you and your girlfriend fight, Maverick. We have to get to GNR ourselves. Our men there need backup and we need to go now," Sarah snapped, turning on her heel.

Maverick felt his neck heat up. "She's not my girlfriend, brat!"

Sarah waved his outburst off. "Whatever. You coming or what?"

Grumbling, Maverick looked down at Leyah again. "Want to go with them? They're honestly our best allies against the muties."

"I'm okay with it. Is Rachel your sister?"

Maverick's eyes met hers again and he didn't see anything prying or demanding in her gaze. He saw an innocent curiosity he had not seen in years and he found it oddly endearing. "Yeah, she is," he answered softly.

He gestured his head toward where Sarah was walking and they slowly made their way along.

Maverick immediately saw many familiar faces as they approached the rest of the soldiers. Vargas was talking to what looked like an Initiate and the others, Glade and Kodiak, were waiting for orders.

"Holy shit, Maverick?! You're a sight for sore eyes," Kodiak laughed.

Maverick couldn't hold back a grin as he and Kodiak embraced. "Likewise," he chuckled.

Kodiak gestured toward Leyah. "Wow, you finally found a girl who's willing to put up with your cranky ass?"

"Why do you people assume she's my girlfriend?!" he snapped.

Leyah was covering her mouth and trying to hold back her snickers. Maverick could see tears pooling in her eyes from the effort.

Despite the irritation, Maverick felt lighter than he had in years.

It felt good to be with the Pride again.

* * *

><p>Leyah was impressed with how the Lyon's Pride worked. Maverick had easily fit in with them and he knew all of their slang and Lyons even let him make some calls along the way. She felt a little irritated to see him working with the other woman so well, but that irritation was immediately swamped by the irritation she felt from being around Reddin.<p>

That girl was an idiot.

Leyah had to help her Paladin teacher cover her ass multiple times on their way toward the GNR station. The girl was capable, but she was what Maverick called, 'an ammo wasting dumb-fuck'.

Many members of the Pride had clapped their hands on Maverick's shoulders and she immediately knew that these people were his old friends. It was strange to see the caustic, boorish loner fit in among them so easily.

"Shit, they have control of the school," one of the soldiers grumbled, reloading his rifle.

"We need to split up, that way we can take them out from all angles."

"No! We need to stay together. Or they will pick us off," Lyons argued firmly.

Leyah glanced up at Maverick and saw him roll his eyes with a sigh. "Sarah, Vaultie and I will take to the second floor and we'll take out as many as we can there. She has the accuracy and we'll help more up there so you guys can carry out your formations."

Everyone stared at him for a moment before Lyons nodded. "Alright, but don't get killed. I would hate to be the one telling Rach that you died here."

Maverick scoffed and cocked his shotgun. "Please," he grumbled, gesturing to Leyah.

Leyah jogged to catch up to him and followed him toward the outer edge of the elementary school. A set of stairs was revealed as they walked around a corner and Leyah stiffened when she heard a Super Mutant on the floor above start to shoot his rifle.

"Alright Vaultie, don't embarrass me. I'll shoot first and you cover me as I reload."

For some reason, his comment pissed her off. Why couldn't she go first? If he vouched for her so damn much, he should let her do that at least. "No, I'll go first. I can cause more damage at a distance with this more than your shotgun can."

Maverick frowned down at her. "Excuse me? I modified this shotgun myself. It'll be fine."

"At least admit that I'm a better shot than you. Let me go first."

"Fine! Whatever, go!"

Leyah smirked at the small victory and she slowly crawled up the stairs. A mutant was not even 20 feet away and she couldn't help but feel satisfied when she easily took it out with two shots to the head.

She leapt up onto the second floor and shot toward the next mutant she saw immediately. A bullet to the neck was all it took.

Maverick's shotgun blasted behind her and she quickly reloaded, getting ready to cover him. She squatted down and aimed toward the mutant that was behind the one Maverick was focused on. A heavy thud and a deep breath was her only warning that a mutant was behind her.

Leyah looked over her shoulder and gasped. A super mutant was heaving a sledge hammer above its head. Without thinking, Leyah somersaulted forward to dodge the swing. She quickly brought her rifle around and shot toward its head.

It groaned and Leyah squeaked when it started to fall backwards. She quickly scrambled away and got on her feet again. She didn't see any more on the second floor so she quickly took care of as many as she could on the first. They reached the opposite edge of the school and Leyah's breath caught in her throat. There were at least five Super Mutant Brutes down in the GNR Plaza and the Brotherhood of Steel members already there were outmatched.

The Pride finally made it to the Plaza and Leyah quickly hid behind a broken piece of wall to reload. Maverick hid beside her and reloaded his shotgun. "That wasn't so bad. Now let's show them how accurate we are."

We. Leyah liked the sound of 'we'.

After about 10 minutes of them switching on and off, the area was finally secure. Leyah felt winded, hungry, and now, exhausted. She felt proud of herself though. She made up for her cowardice in the Metro. The muties actually weren't as bad as she thought they would be.

She leaned up against the wall again with a deep breath, holding her rifle close. She could feel her hair stick to her neck from the sweat and the discomfort made her inwardly squirm.

Maverick gently nudged her. "Come on, they should be opening the doors when they make sure everything is clear. We can eat and catch a breather inside." He paused at the top of the stairs and looked back at her. "And…good job, Leyah. You were right earlier."

Leyah blinked in shock, dumbfounded that he even admitted it. He was surprising her way too much in one day. First with the Brotherhood of Steel news and then with calling her Leyah and being nice to her, it was more than she could process. That didn't mean she didn't like it though.

He gave her a small grin before walking down the stairs.

Shaking her head, Leyah sluggishly followed behind him and slung her rifle over her shoulder. They walked side by side through the plaza, eventually passing by Reddin and Paladin Vargas right as Reddin fired three shots into the air with a whoop.

Maverick halted in his tracks and Leyah stiffened. Oh no…

"What the fuck are you doing?" Maverick seethed, glaring at the Initiate.

"Celebrating," Reddin replied in a cocky tone.

Leyah didn't even try to stop Maverick from getting in her face and Paladin Vargas looked almost relieved.

"You. Fuckwit. You just wasted ammo and let every surviving mutie in the area know that we're. Now they're going to come here right away instead of finding this place by chance like they were supposed to." He shoved the girl hard enough to make her almost stumble in her power armor. "You're lucky I'm not in charge anymore or your life would have just become hell," he spat, walking away.

Leyah gave an apologetic glance toward Paladin Vargas before catching up to her angry friend. "That was a waste of ammo and Behemoths love loud noises. I can't even-" his words trailed off into a deep grumble as he stomped toward the GNR entrance.

"Speaking of ammo," Leyah said, hoping to get his mind off dumb Initiates, "want to see if we can find anything on these mutants? We could sell some of the shells later." She jerked her thumb toward the dead mutants, arching a brow.

Maverick halted in his tracks and turned around without a word and started to check the closest Super Mutant body.

Leyah held back the urge to smirk at him before checking the pockets of the nearest mutant. Right as she squatted down next to a body, a shadow loomed over her. She looked up and was surprised to see a Brotherhood soldier standing next to her.

He took off his helmet and a middle aged man with greying dark hair and smiling brown eyes greeted her. "I'm Paladin Glade," he greeted, holding out a hand.

Leyah tentatively took it. "Leyah Hunter."

Glade grinned and squatted down next to her, checking the pack on the mutant's back. "So how did you convince Maverick to let you travel with him?"

"That's funny, because it was the other way around."

"What?"

Leyah stood up, inspecting the bullets she found before moving on to the next body. "He showed me the ropes in Springvale and then I went on my own. He eventually found me and convinced me to let him come with me. I was happy he did."

"Holy shit, there's a first for everything."

Leyah couldn't help but laugh at the Paladin's disbelief. "I guess." She squatted down next to another mutant and bit her lip, glancing over at Maverick, who was on the other side of the plaza now. "Were you good friends with him?"

Glade perked up as if he was waiting for her to ask that question. "I've known him ever since we were Initiates. Hell, he and I helped Sarah found the Pride. It was all her idea you know, she was just too young and inexperienced to lead it at the time so Maverick took the job."

Leyah was now super curious and she couldn't resist the opportunity in front of her. "So you know how much of a pain he can be?"

Glade scoffed. "He's the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met."

"So," Leyah mused, standing up again. Forget scavenging, this was more interesting. "You probably have a lot of dirt on him that a poor girl like me can use eventually, right?"

Glade smirked. "Do I ever! What do you want to know?"

Leyah jerked a thumb in her friend's direction. "What's with everyone asking if I'm his girlfriend or not?"

Glade snickered. "Oh, that? Well, let's just say that the few girls that dated him were known to be seen fighting or arguing with him constantly. So, naturally when we saw you giving him shit…"

Leyah tried to ignore how hot her cheeks were getting. Her and Maverick? That was a funny concept. A little voice in her brain told her she was lying to herself and that she didn't think it was funny. She shook it away and tried to not think about it.

"Rachel used to tell him to be nicer and she was the only other person besides their mother that didn't take shit from him. If anyone can control Maverick, it's her."

"Tell me more about her," Leyah said, glancing toward Maverick again. He was talking to Lyons now.

"Rachel? She's the nicest person I know, but don't piss her off. That's the only similarity between the two knuckleheads, their tempers are legendary," Glade laughed. "She's one of the smartest people in the Brotherhood too. They were surprised she didn't become a scribe. She went for the Paladin route instead."

"Were they close? Maverick and Rachel? She was the only thing he would mention when I asked about his past."

"Were they close? They were the definition of close. When Maverick had to- ya know- leave, she was devastated. He was really protective of her too. You'll never meet anyone who cares about other people's safety as much as him."

Unfortunately, Maverick happened to walk up right as Glade finished talking.

"Gossiping again Glade?" Maverick teased, crossing his arms.

Leyah suddenly realized how close he was standing to her and could see what Glade meant about him being protective.

She tuned out Maverick and Glade's conversation and studied Maverick the whole time. He looked ten years younger as he talked to his friend. The lines in his brow were almost nonexistent and a small grin was now always present on his face. She blushed when she realized she was staring and got back to scavenging anything she could from nearby mutant corpses.

Maverick eventually said goodbye to his friend and joined her.

They ended up near the fountain about 10 minutes later and Leyah halted in her tracks at the sight of the Brotherhood knight.

The body was sprawled awkwardly over the edge of the fountain and Leyah's stomach squirmed at the sight. She glanced up at Maverick and bit her lip when she saw his blank stare. He was stock still and his hands were clenched at his side and Leyah could see the muscles in his jaw tighten.

He suddenly looked much older than he probably was.

Not knowing what else to do, she gently grabbed his hand and managed to work her fingers in-between his before giving them a light squeeze. She let go and started to look for more ammo and other supplies, avoiding the body at all costs.

"You've been doing that a lot, Vaultie."

Leyah squatted down next to a hunting rifle and started to inspect it. "Doing what?" she asked, giving him a quick glance over her shoulder before picking up the gun.

He squatted down next to her and her heart leapt up into her throat when he put a finger under her chin and made her look at him. "Be nice to me," he said, lowering his finger.

Leyah shrugged. "You looked upset. Why wouldn't I be nice?"

His even, greenish-blue stare held hers for many moments and Leyah found herself noticing a lot of things she didn't notice before. Like, for example, the light, thin scar that ran through is left brow, and how long his eyelashes were. Her neck and cheeks suddenly felt warm with the realizations as well.

A loud booming noise broke the moment and Leyah looked toward where the noise came from. Maverick was looking as well and Leyah literally saw the color drain from his face.

"Vargas! Get the Initiate out of there!" he suddenly bellowed, bringing out his bag of grenades.

Before Leyah or, apparently, anyone could react, the pile of cars that was blocking the street was blown apart by the biggest arm Leyah had ever seen. The giant mutant let out a big bellow when his huge arm swung toward Initiate Reddin. Leyah watched in horror as Reddin flew through the air and landed on the steps of the GNR studio.

Maverick and the other Brotherhood soldiers had already reacted, but Leyah could tell that their grenades and bullets weren't going to get them anywhere.

She remembered what Maverick told her about Behemoths, and that the only way to get rid of them was to nuke 'em. She dove away from a flying car door and looked around frantically for something- anything- that could give them a chance.

"Get the fatman!" Lyons yelled, firing her weapon toward the monster.

Leyah looked and her heart started to thud when she saw the fatman in the arms of the dead Brotherhood soldier. She scrambled toward the fountain and ripped the weapon from the dead man's arms, mentally saying an apology.

Leyah realized two big problems when she faced the mutant. 1; she had no idea how to work this gun, and 2; it was impossibly heavy.

"Maverick! Get them away!" she screamed, hoping that she was pulling the trigger.

Luckily, the other soldiers and Maverick were a good distance away when the mini nuke slammed into the mutant's chest.

A large wave of heat rushed into Leyah and she felt the nausea that came with radiation right after it left. That feeling with the combined weight of the fatman forced her to her knees and she clung to the edge of the fountain to keep upright.

The Behemoth let out a gurgled roar before falling forward on its face.

The square was eerily quiet for a few moments before the scattered cheers of the Brotherhood soldiers rang out through the air.

A heavy hand on her shoulder caused Leyah to look up at the sad, yet smiling face of Sarah Lyons. "You did well, much better than the usual rookie. Remind me not to doubt you next time."

Leyah gave her a weak smile before trying to push herself to her feet. She stumbled a little and yelped when she almost toppled over. Luckily, Maverick was there to help her up. "Easy there," he said softly, helping her sit on the edge of the fountain.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Her stomach churned as the gross feeling of radiation just got stronger.

"Need some RadAway?" Maverick asked, setting his pack down.

Leyah didn't open her mouth and she managed to nod. She didn't want to see what she ate for lunch and she didn't want to barf in front of Maverick and the Sentinel.

She scrunched up her face and looked away as Maverick lifted her jumpsuit sleeve and injected the medicine. A small hiss got by her teeth as the needle pinched her arm. The nausea slowly went away and Leyah let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"How the hell did you do that?" Maverick snorted, gesturing toward the fatman.

"What was it you said once? 'Just pull the damn trigger.'"

Maverick barked out a laugh. "Well, now I know you're feeling better. You're giving me shit."

Leyah grinned and took his hand, squeaking a little when he easily pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks, Maverick. It was good to see you again," Lyons said, holding out her hand to the formal soldier.

Maverick stared at her hand for a second before finally giving it a firm shake. "You're doing a good job, Sarah. I think you'll be better than me soon enough."

Lyons shook her head. "How did you do it?"

Both Maverick and Leyah gave her confused looks. "Do what?" Maverick asked, tilting his head.

Lyons looked over at Reddin's body and Leyah's heart almost broke when she saw the weariness and the woman's face. "Move on," she whispered, looking back at Maverick.

Leyah looked up at Maverick too and was shocked to see his eyes glazing over.

He shook his head with a shaky sigh. "You don't."

With that, he turned on his heel, picked up his pack, and walked toward the GNR entrance.

* * *

><p>Three Dog was still the cowardly asshole Maverick remembered him being.<p>

Leyah did him proud though. She gave the asshat a run for his money and didn't stop giving him shit until Maverick finally cut in and just decided to tell Three Dog that they would help.

Now, they were hanging out in one of Three Dog's spare rooms and Leyah was still grumbling angrily as she sorted out all they scavenged. "I can't believe it. All he has to do answer a damn question! Now he's exploiting a kid and wasting everyone's time. I can't even-"

"Leyah."

"I mean. Doesn't he know that there are super mutants everywhere out here?! And why aren't you mad?! Here I was thinking you would be kicking his ass! I-"

"Leyah!"

"What?!" she snapped, setting down the supplies they got from the mutants.

"Sometimes you have to play by other people's rules out here. Three Dog will be eternally grateful and willing to cooperate more in the future if you do this," he said wearily. "And I'm sorry I didn't help you chew his ass out I was…preoccupied."

Leyah stared at him and Maverick stared right back from his spot on the floor. He had immediately sat down and leaned against the wall when they entered the room and he didn't even bother unpacking.

Leyah stood up and walked across the room and took a seat beside him. She rested her head back against the wall as she looked up at him. Maverick looked back and he almost laughed. She really was tiny compared to him and it was funny because it wasn't like she was a stick or anything.

"Do you want to talk? Or is that against the rules still?" she asked quietly, giving him a soft grin. She gently nudged him before looking away.

Some locks of her hair had fallen forward into her eyes and Maverick had to hold back the urge to push them away. He gulped and looked forward, wondering whether he wanted her to know or not.

"How are you so damn cheerful?" he asked instead.

She looked up at him again and shrugged. "Well, if I become a grump like you, I'm letting everything else win. At least that's how I see it. My dad taught me that and it's the only thing I have of him at the moment."

"Is that so?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah. So I try to stay positive and keep going while doing so."

They sat in silence for many moments before Leyah pushed herself to her feet. "I'm going to get some of that food and beer Three Dog promised. Want anything in particular?"

Maverick waved her off. "Just get whatever, Vaultie."

Leyah grinned at him again before stepping out of the room.

Wiping a hand down his face, Maverick considered his options and the situation he was in. He had never told anyone about the Brotherhood and why he was dismissed. He also didn't tell anyone about the immense debt he owed to Doctor James Hunter. Because of this fact, he wondered why in the hell he would want to tell a tiny girl he had only known for three weeks.

_Oh fuck, I can't be doing this right now,_ he thought, reevaluating why he left Springvale to go find her.

Leyah reminded him of his sister, yes, but she also had something about her that just made him curious. Three Dog wasn't lying when he said that there was something in her that screamed, 'I'm going to get shit done.' If Leyah had proved one thing, it was the fact that she was tenacious and smart, and she used those qualities to help others before even helping herself.

She had told him that the only reason she had come to Springvale was to warn Silver about Moriarty, nothing else. The damn girl risked her life to save someone she didn't even know.

But, seeing her fight with Three Dog made him realize that she wasn't stupid and was at least a little realistic when helping others. Three Dog's request was over both of their heads and Leyah didn't hesitate to say so.

Maverick was never going to admit this to the vault girl's face, but she was the splash of color he needed in his life. He would have been lying if he said he was happy living alone in Springvale. Leyah was the only one who tried to get under his skin and find out more about him and not about what he could do for her.

_Would it be so bad to have someone know?_ he asked himself. Leyah at least deserved an explanation after having to deal with some of the Brotherhood members. And he knew that she would never use that information against him, even though it was against his better judgment. A heavy weight settled in his chest as he sighed. He was going to have to tell her eventually, so he might as well do it now.

Leyah finally returned with two plates of Brahmin steak and two beers. "This was all he had," she said apologetically, sitting down beside him.

Maverick took the plate, fork, and bottle from her and just stared at it. He looked back at her and set them to the side. "Leyah."

Her fork paused in front of her mouth and she glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to tell you some stories, so set your shit down for a second."

Leyah's brow arched incredulously, but she did as he asked.

"I'm going to tell you what your dad did, and why I was dismissed from the Brotherhood," Maverick paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "It happened 20 years ago. I was 14 years old and Rachel was 10…"


	5. Chapter 5

A young boy breathed in deeply as he stood at the top of one of the Citadel watch towers. His chestnut colored hair whipped around in the wind as he looked out over the expanse of the ruins. His whole body trembled as he looked over the edge. Jesus, he hated heights. Why was he up here?!

"Look Mav! I see a dog pack that way. Do you think Mom and Dad will let us adopt one?!" a high pitched voice squealed happily.

Oh, that's why.

Maverick rolled his eyes and looked at his 10 year old sister standing nearby. She was leaning on the watch tower railing and pointing out toward the open area near the Citadel. Her dark hair whipped around her own face as she beamed at him.

"Rach! Get off of the railing. Dad would kill me if you fell!" Maverick ordered, feeling queasy at the thought.

Rachel shrugged and stepped away from the railing. "I don't know why you're so scared of heights. It's really not that bad up here."

Maverick begged to differ. "Come on. Mom is going to be looking for us soon."

Rachel scuffed her shoe on the ground and reluctantly followed Maverick down the watch tower stairs.

They jogged across the bailey toward the B ring. Maverick's mom was currently serving as the Brotherhood's doctor until they get their robot fixed.

Maverick honestly preferred his mother looking at the wounds he got from training rather than a robot. At least he knew his mother wouldn't accidentally try to cut his arm off when she was treating him.

The finally made it to the Infirmary and Maverick knocked on the door. Rachel clutched at the back of his shirt and Maverick rolled his eyes. She really needed to stop doing that. She was 10 years old for crying out loud. But, he let her do it anyway because he was a sucker when it came to her and she knew it.

The door finally opened and his mom, Eleanor, beamed down at them. "Just a second. I'm treating a broken nose right now."

She gently closed the door and Maverick looked back at Rachel with a shrug. Rachel suddenly smiled. "I'm going to ask her about the dogs."

Maverick shook his head in amusement. "You do that, Rach. She's going to say no."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"No you don't. You act like you know everything but you don't, Mav."

Maverick just grinned and shook his head again.

A loud cry suddenly came from the Infirmary and the soothing sound of Eleanor's voice shortly followed it.

An Initiate that Maverick didn't recognize walked out of the room, holding a bloody rag to his nose. Eleanor followed him. "Now keep that up there. It'll stop bleeding eventually."

The initiate nodded and walked away. Maverick kind of felt bad for the guy. They were practicing hand-to-hand combat today in training and it was rough for a lot of the newer kids. Maverick didn't have any trouble. His dad has been training him for as long as he can remember so he never had to worry during training. It was all review to him.

His father, Johnathan, was the head Paladin in the Brotherhood and was one of Elder Lyons' personal advisors. Johnathan had told Maverick that he needed his children to be the best in training, or he would look bad.

When Maverick was younger, he just accepted these words and didn't ask questions. He just did what his father told him too. Now, he thought it was complete and utter bullshit, but he tried his best in training anyway. He didn't know how to do anything else.

Rachel was now going through their father's training sessions and Maverick couldn't help but feel pissed whenever he saw a bruise forming on his sister's skin or when she looked worn down. She stayed happy and smiling though, and that was better than how Maverick did at her age.

Eleanor smiled and kneeled down to press a kiss to Rachel's temple. "Are you two ready for dinner?"

"Mom, can we have a dog?"

Eleanor's brows rose at the question. "Why do you want a dog, sweetie?"

"We saw a pack of them from the watch tower today and they look really cool. Can we please have one?"

Eleanor shook her head. "Sorry honey, dogs require a lot of work and supplies that we just don't have."

Rachel frowned. "But Sarah has a dog! Why does she get a dog and we don't? Dad's just as important as Elder Lyons. I want a dog!"

"Rach, that's enough," Maverick warned, seeing how his Mom's brows were starting to pinch together. They only did that when she was upset.

"Shut up, Maverick! I just don't get why we can't have a dog! It's not fair!"

"Rachel Marie Barrington, you stop right now," Eleanor ordered softly.

Eleanor then sighed and tucked a lock Rachel's dark hair behind her ear. Maverick almost sighed when he saw his sister's eyes glazing over with unshed tears.

"Rachel, we can't have a dog. They really are much more work than they're worth. A dog would take away food that another person could be eating. Do you want to take food away from someone else?"

"No, but-"

"And there's your answer. Don't ask again," Eleanor said with finality.

The trio walked toward the mess hall in a tense silence. Angry tears slowly trailed down Rachel's cheeks and it took all of Maverick's willpower to not reach out and hold her hand. This was a lesson she had to learn, and he couldn't hold her hand and comfort her while she was learning.

It sucked to see her cry though.

* * *

><p>"Maverick! Maverick wake up!"<p>

Maverick jerked awake and reached for the knife he kept under his pillow. He looked up and was shocked to see his dad standing over him. Johnathan Barrington was the perfect definition of authority. From the way his hair was combed over to how he spoke and acted told no one to mess with him.

At the moment, Johnathan's dark eyes were flashing with fury. "Get up. Now."

Maverick quickly rolled out of bed at his father's harsh tone. "What is it?" he asked, pulling on his boots.

"It's Rachel. She's missing."

Maverick felt like a bucket of rad-water was poured over his head and it left a wake of nausea after it. "What?!"

"You heard me. She's missing. Keep your voice down."

Maverick looked around and was surprised to see the other Initiates in their beds still. "Why isn't the whole Citadel awake?"

"Because I want to keep this as low key as possible. Now hurry up, I have a small group waiting near the front gate. Meet us there."

Maverick grit his teeth to keep a smart ass remark to himself as Johnathan walked away. Low key? Maverick didn't know much about being a parent, but he would have been turning the whole damn place upside down if he had a missing kid. Not forming a small search party and hoping no one found out.

"Fucking asshole," he hissed, quickly pulling his combat armor on. He grabbed his laser rifle and slung it over his shoulder before loping over to the main entrance. He clipped on his ammo belt and stepped out the door to see his parents and a few other Paladins waiting there.

"Good, we're all here. Maverick, you and Paladin Wernicke will cover the land southeast of us toward the river. Eleanor and I will cover the land northwest and Paladin Jordan and Paladin Reynes will cover the area southwest."

Maverick almost sighed. His dad obviously had no idea what was going on. "Dad, she went after the dog pack that passed by south of here because she wants a dog. It's pointless to go north."

Johnathan whipped around and narrowed his eyes at him.

_Fuck._

"Are you head Paladin, Initiate?"

"Johnathan-"

"Not. Now. Eleanor."

Maverick grit his teeth again. He fucking _hated_ how his dad talked to his mom. His mom didn't deserve half of the bullshit Johnathan gave her.

"Fine, go north. She won't be that way," Maverick snapped, walking away before his dad could say anything else.

Paladin Wernicke caught up with him and they started to head toward the river. "You know he's just worried right? He usually isn't that snappy."

"You didn't used to live with him," Maverick grumbled. The day he started training as an Initiate was the best and worst day ever. The best part was he got away from his dad. The worst part was the fact that he couldn't watch over his mom and Rachel.

Fuck what everyone thought, Maverick wasn't going to lie for his dad and come up with excuses.

The duo almost didn't need to use their flashlights the moon was so bright. Maverick stayed as quiet as he could as he listened to the sounds of the night.

Dammit, if he knew where Rachel left, he could have tracked her easily. They finally reached the river and Maverick huffed in annoyance. They haven't found anything and it would be dumb as hell to call out. A super mutant would find them before they found Rachel. A howl suddenly sounded throughout the night and a shrill scream followed it.

Maverick and Wernicke stared at each other before bolting toward the sound. Maverick wasn't wearing the power armor so he was able to get a lead.

His boots finally hit the road's pavement and he instantly raised his rifle. There were three dogs and he saw a body on the ground. Maverick took aim and pulled the trigger. The first dog disintegrated into ash and the other two bolted with their tails between their legs.

Dread filled Maverick as he sprinted toward the body. His heart was threatening to thunder out of his chest as he skidded to a halt next to Rachel. "Rach? Rach!"

Rachel whimpered and curled up into an even tighter ball. He looked and saw deep gashes in her legs and arms. The one on her side was the one that worried him the most. Luckily, the dogs didn't reach her neck. She was crying and staring up at him with huge eyes. "Maverick it hurts! Make it stop!" she sobbed, crying even harder.

"Oh Rachel," he breathed, quickly taking off his shirt. He tore it into strips and started to wrap them around her wounds. He stared down at her face and he could literally feel his heart being ripped to shreds.

Rachel never looked so tiny or broken in her life and her crying only got worse after he tied the makeshift bandages. He put on what was left of his shirt and quickly put his armor back on over it.

"Is she okay?" Wernicke managed to huff out as he stopped beside them.

Maverick suddenly realized that Rachel's crying had gotten softer. He looked at her again and his heart sunk to the ground when he saw her eyes starting to flutter.

"Maverick, I don't feel good," she mumbled between sniffs.

"Shit, she's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her back to the Citadel now."

"Alright, lets-"

"RAAAAAAGH!"

Maverick immediately ducked down as the loud pop of a gunshot rang out in the night. "Fuck, it's Muties," Wernicke snarled, lifting his gun and aiming it down the bank. Wernicke shot and looked down at Maverick. "You have to get her to Jefferson Memorial. Some of our soldiers are stationed there. Hurry!"

Maverick didn't hesitate. He lifted Rachel so that she was draped over his back. He hooked his arms underneath her legs and tried to position her arms over his shoulders and he started to run. His blood pounded in his ears and his lungs started to burn as he sprinted down the road.

"Maverick, I'm scared."

"I know, I'll get us out of here. Hang on Rach."

He tried to stay in the shadows as much as possible and his heart felt like it was threatening to burst as he felt bullets whiz by his head. Rachel didn't say anything else and her body went slack. Terror started to take control at the feeling of her dead weight on top of him.

He had to get Rachel to safety. If it was the last thing he did on this earth, he was going to save his sister.

God damn him if he let her die because of a few stupid dogs and mutants.

Jefferson Memorial's tall dome finally started to block out the moon and Maverick could see his escape. The glint of power armor on the scaffolding outside revealed the sentries the Brotherhood stationed outside.

"Help! Muties! Brotherhood member down!" he bellowed.

He shouted in pain when a searing, hot feeling bloomed in his leg. He didn't even stop to see what happened and he kept hobbling toward the memorial entrance.

The door opened and a Knight burst out with a gun at the ready. "Get inside!"

Maverick hobbled in and fell to his knees. His leg was shaking and it felt like it was on fire.

"What's going on?"

Maverick looked up to see a man wearing a lab coat. His dark hair was combed over neatly and his accent was strange. "My sister! Please help her!" Maverick managed to choke out. He had blacked out before, and he could feel it coming.

His world turned dark and he used his last ounce of energy to make sure he fell forward instead of backward so he wouldn't crush Rachel.

* * *

><p>Maverick woke to the sounds of a muffled voice. When he finally came to, he could hear clearly.<p>

"She'll have some scars, but she'll be okay," the same, deep, accented voice from before said.

Maverick opened his eyes and immediately wish he didn't. The light was blinding and his head felt like it got smashed with a mutie's sledgehammer. Despite that, he had to know what was going on. He looked to the side and the breath whooshed out of his lungs in relief when he saw Rachel tucked under a blanket in a bed nearby.

He slowly sat up and looked down at his leg. It was covered with bandages and the pain was slowly going away.

"We had to use a stimpak. I hope that's alright," a light, feminine voice said.

Maverick looked to see a blonde woman smiling at him next to his bed. Her grey-blue eyes crinkled as her smile grew. She stood up and Maverick tried to not stare at her heavily pregnant belly. "We were actually more worried about you than her. We thought the bullet got your bone for a while."

"You're lucky you got here when you did. Your sister almost bled out. We were able to help her though. You should be proud of yourself young man," the man said, stepping closer to Maverick's bed.

"How long was I out?" Maverick asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The pain was quickly disappearing from his leg and he looked at the man. "Thank you, for the stimpak."

"You are welcome. And you've been out for a couple hours. A blood pack and a stimpak did the trick for your leg," the man said, giving him a kind smile. He held out his hand. "I'm Doctor James Hunter, and this is my wife, Doctor Catherine Hunter. We are working on a science project here. What's your name son?"

Maverick took the man's hand. "Maverick Barrington. What did you do for her?" he asked, looking over at Rachel.

"I was able to stitch up the shallow wounds and we gave her a stimpak to help the deeper ones heal. She should be alright," James answered.

Maverick sighed in relief. "I-"

The door suddenly burst open and Maverick's heart dropped when he saw his dad walk in with his mom close behind. "Maverick, go help the Knights out front. Now."

Maverick held back a sigh and nodded at the two scientists before grabbing his things next to the bed. He looked at the scientists again. "Than-"

"Maverick. Now!"

Maverick glared at his dad before walking out the door.

* * *

><p>Maverick stared at the opposite wall, waiting for Leyah to say something.<p>

"You…met my mom?"

Maverick stiffened and dared to look at her. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"What was she like?"

Maverick's brows pinched in confusion. "You never met her?"

Leyah looked away. "She died when I was born," she said quietly, now gnawing on her lip.

Maverick's heart sunk at her expression. He knew what that look meant. He saw the same expression in the mirror whenever he had come back from a mission. "You blame yourself, don't you?"

Leyah sighed and let out a small laugh. "I mean, I would blame me if I was my dad. She would still be alive if they didn't have me and he never got over her."

Her eyes started to glaze over with tears and Maverick did something he hadn't done in years. He draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. "I doubt that's what your dad thinks. It's one of the damn risks of living out here."

Leyah shook her head. "What if that's why he left? What if he really couldn't stand the sight of me?"

"Cut that shit out. It might have something to do with what your parents were doing before you were born. I never knew what the hell was going on at the memorial but there were Knights there all the time so it must have been important."

Leyah wiped her nose and looked up at him. "What if he's there?"

Maverick shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I want to make absolutely sure before going anywhere. Confirm stuff while you can out here, because you don't get that chance often."

Leyah nodded and stared ahead. She then leaned into him more, resting her hand on his knee. Maverick stared at her hand, suddenly realizing what position they were in now that he wasn't comforting her. Her side was pressed against his and he could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose she was so close now. His heart started to thud in his chest and he mentally cursed at himself.

She blushed and immediately jerked it back to her lap. Maverick found the action endearing. "Sorry…so that's why you want to help me find Dad? So you can thank him for real?"

"Yeah, Rachel is one of the most important things in my life. I don't know what I would do if she died and I have your parents to thank for that." He paused, trying to think of something else to say. "You look like your mom too. Same hair and shit. The rest is your dad."

Leyah grinned a little. "Dad always told me I kind of looked like her."

Maverick squeezed her shoulders before pulling his arm away. "I also just wanted to help you after you left. You remind me of Rachel."

Leyah looked up at him, grin growing wider. "Really? How?"

"She goes out of her way for people too. And she doesn't let the wasteland win either."

Leyah chuckled and thumped his leg. "I knew you liked me a little."

"Yeah yeah, congratulations," Maverick retorted, pinching her arm.

"Hey!"

"Now shut up, this next story is depressing."

* * *

><p>"More and more muties are getting deeper into the ruins. Where the fuck are they coming from and why are they coming here?" Kodiak rumbled, scratching his head.<p>

Maverick sighed and looked at their makeshift map of the ruins on the table. The rest of the Pride was standing around it, looking to him for answers.

"We need to find out where they're making more muties. As far as we know, they don't reproduce and they don't always eat the people they capture. Now, most of them are coming from the western tunnels and slowly making their way east; we need to cut them off," he finally said, pointing at the various markers on the map.

"What should we do? Set traps at certain tunnels?" Sarah said, pointing to one of the western tunnels.

Maverick shook his head. "No, we can't do that because civilians could get hurt that way. Yes, it would probably deal with a lot of the yellow motherfuckers but that's putting too many innocent lives at stake."

"Come on, who is innocent these days?" Kodiak huffed.

Maverick glared at him. "Hey asshole, our job is to protect civilians and nothing else. Now, I say we search every western tunnel until we find out which one they're coming in from and go from there. If we can track the fuckers back to their origin, we just might be able to solve the problem."

Glade crossed his arms with a scoff. "Oh please, I think we all know those bastards at Raven Rock are the ones behind it."

Maverick gave him a knowing smirk. "I think the Enclave are behind a lot of shit in the wasteland, but we can't stop them until we know what they're up to for sure. The Pride could find the means of their destruction and I think dealing with the muties can be our first step toward that."

A light knock suddenly sounded on the door, causing the whole Pride to look toward it as it slowly opened. A young scribe stood there with an apologetic look. "Uh, Sentinel Barrington, they want to see you in Elder Lyons' quarters, sir."

Maverick rolled his eyes toward Glade. "Start making plans. I'll be back."

The walk to the top level of the Citadel was a short one and Maverick found himself in front of the Elder's office in no time. He knocked on the door and stepped in.

Surprisingly, he only saw his dad, Scribe Rothchild, and Paladin Casdin. Why were the advisors here? Lyons was nowhere to be seen.

"Can you close the door please, Sentinel?" Rothchild asked with a thin smile.

Maverick shut the door and stepped toward the advisors. "You needed me?" he asked, looking at each of their faces.

"We came here to give you a proposition, son," Johnathan said, walking toward a large table on the other side of the room.

Fuck, his dad only called him son when he wanted something. It took every ounce of his willpower to not give him a sarcastic reply. "And that would be?"

"We have come up with a new mission plan to help with the growing super mutant problem," Rothchild said, walking toward the table as well.

Maverick followed suit and stepped closer to the table. There was a detailed map of the metros on it and red markers at every open tunnel entrance. Blue markers were placed on the western metro entrances.

"The red markers represent every accessible tunnel in the metro. Do you want to know what the blue markers represent?" Rothchild asked.

Maverick grit his teeth. He hated how Rothchild spoke to everyone in a patronizing tone; it pissed him off to no end. "What do they represent, Scribe Rothchild?"

"The Super Mutants have an irrational need for humans, so we decided to go with a different approach rather than taking the fight to them," Rothchild explained, "we plan to find willing…volunteers, to go in and draw the mutants out while the Pride fires down on them. We even believe that collapsing some of the tunnels they use frequently will help with the issue."

Maverick stiffened and glared at the Scribe. "You want to use people as fucking bait?"

"Language," Johnathan chided.

"Fuck you, I lead the elite group here. I can say what I want," Maverick snapped, turning back toward the scribe. "Say it again, asshole. You want to use our people as bait and possibly collapse a tunnel on them just to stop a few muties?"

"We believe it would be most effective and it would force them to use the tunnels we have an advantage in and-"

"No one has any advantage in any tunnel, you fuckwit. The feral ghouls and super mutants will always have the upper hand no matter what the hell you do and you would know it if you actually left this damn place. Putting people in danger is not worth it."

Casdin sighed and looked at his dad. "Johnathan, please get through to him."

Arch Paladin Barrington obviously didn't like how his son was disagreeing with their perfect plan. Maverick could recognize the signs immediately. His dad's jaw as clenched and he was holding his hands behind his back. His eyes were like hardened steel as he narrowed his eyes toward his son.

"Sentinel, we never said that we would use our own people to draw the mutants out. People are looking for help and supplies from the Brotherhood all the time. We will compensate the civilians that make it out of the operation and give them shelter and the supplies they need."

Maverick felt as if someone shocked him with a pulse mine. No fucking way. No. Fucking. Way.

"You want to wave innocent people in front of the mutants and possibly crush them in a tunnel? And you want the Pride to be a direct part of it? No. My men and I will have nothing to do with this," he snarled. "What does Elder Lyons have to say about this?!"

"He approved of it this morning. All we need is you and the Pride's cooperation," Rothchild explained calmly.

Maverick didn't believe a god damned word. Lyons would never approve putting innocent people in danger. That was not what the Brotherhood was about. They left the ruthless cruelty to the Enclave. "I want to hear it from him before I fucking decide anything. Where is he?"

Johnathan suddenly lunged forward and tried to tower over Maverick. That was hard to do when he was shorter than him now. "You listen here, we are your superiors. I don't care what group you lead. We believe this is the best for the wasteland and it will give us an edge over the mutants."

Maverick shook his head. He knew what this was about. His father was an elitist through and through. "Let me guess, our volunteers will come from Megaton and some of the less sophisticated settlements of the wasteland? Just weeding out the unworthy, right? I want nothing to do with it," Maverick growled, glaring right back at his father.

Johnathan's jaw clenched and Maverick knew he hit the nail on the head. That motherfucker didn't see it coming.

"I know how you feel about some of the settlers. You wouldn't feel an ounce of sympathy if that bomb in Megaton went off. I bet you would be grateful," he stepped closer and towered over his dad instead, "Let me tell you one thing Arch Paladin, the Pride and I are not going to be a part of your fucked up schemes. You tell Elder Lyons that I will be in the Den if he wants to explain this plan himself, _if_ he approved it."

Maverick turned on his heel and glared at Casdin and Rothchild. "I'm honestly not surprised that you three motherfuckers came up with this. It's disappointing to see people like you among us."

He started to walk toward the door. His dad's sharp tone reached his ears right as he reached for the doorknob.

"You will be dismissed from the Brotherhood of Steel if you walk out that door, Maverick Barrington," Johnathan threatened.

Maverick's hand froze on the doorknob. He looked up at the ceiling with clenched teeth. He whirled around, barking out a laugh. "Oh really? Just because I don't want to kill people? Or because I won't bow down to your demands?"

"Yes, insubordination like this will cause the downfall of the Brotherhood. If you continue to disobey orders, we will be forced to take action. You will be dismissed and if you do not leave the Citadel before nightfall, you will be shot on sight."

Rothchild and Casedin wouldn't even meet Maverick's eyes when he glared over at them.

Maverick weighed his options. He could stay here and agree with their fucked up plan, but the guilt would weigh him down the rest of his life and he knew the Pride would question everything he did after that. He could refuse and get shot, but that wouldn't help anything. Everyone would believe whatever lies his dad and the others could cook up.

There was only one option that would expose them and keep the Pride out of the plan, and it was the most painful option of all.

"Fuck you. The Pride stays out of it," he hissed.

With that, he stepped out the door and slammed it shut behind him.

* * *

><p>Maverick didn't even bother going back to the Den. He immediately went to his quarters and started packing.<p>

"Hold it."

Maverick looked over his shoulder and inwardly groaned. Knight Morgan was one of his least favorite people out there. She basically licked the dirt off his dad's boots.

"What?"

"You can't take any power armor or technology with you. You're allowed clothes, basic supplies, and one weapon," she sneered.

Maverick stepped close and towered over her. "Oh? And you're going to enforce that?"

The whine of a laser pistol charging and a soft nudge to his abdomen was his answer. Maverick clenched his jaw to keep from punching the smug grin off her face.

"Fine, but I get to see the rest of my family before I go."

"Fine with me. You only have 30 minutes before the sun sets though, so I would hurry if I were you."

Maverick quickly packed things that he would absolutely need and things he could trade. He left his laser rifle and grabbed his shotgun instead. Shotgun shells were cheaper than electron packs.

He picked up his pack and glared at Morgan before striding out of his room. He quickly made his way toward the B Ring. He finally made it to his parents' room and he tapped on the door. He tried to ignore the laser pistol pointed at his back.

His mother opened it and her blue-green eyes crinkled as she smiled up at him. "A visit from my son? I thought you were too busy being important to do that," Eleanor laughed.

Her comment was like a punch to the gut. Without saying anything, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Mom…you won't get to see me for a while."

Eleanor pushed away and stared up at him with wide eyes. Her lip started to tremble when she saw the heavy pack draped over his shoulder with his shotgun. "You said no, didn't you? I didn't think he would actually do it," she mumbled, looking horrified.

Maverick pulled her in for a hug again. "You can't let him carry out that fucked plan of theirs Mom. Do whatever you can to expose that son of a bitch." He stepped away and held her face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "I love you, Mom. Take care of Rach for me."

Eleanor barely managed to nod before pulling her son in for another hug. "Stay safe out there. And carry out our mission."

Maverick instantly knew what she meant. "I'll try."

Eleanor pushed him away. "Go find Rach. You don't have much time. I'll meet you by the front gate," she managed to choke out before covering her mouth to stop the sobs.

Maverick nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead before hurrying down the hallway.

Maverick gulped down the lump forming in his throat as he stepped into the A Ring. Rachel would most likely be with the other Knights right now in the mess hall.

He finally reached it and instantly picked her dark hair out in the crowd. He hurried over to her and grabbed her elbow. She yelped in surprise as he pulled her toward the other exit. "Hey! You could at least say hi first, dummy!"

Maverick stopped when they got into the hallway and he took a deep breath before meeting her eyes. Morgan gave him a warning look from behind Rachel. "I have to leave, Rach."

Rachel's thin brows pinched in confusion and her mouth turned down into a frown. "What? Why? What happened? Are you going on a special mission for the Pride?"

Maverick's heart was literally being ripped apart. "No, I am being dismissed from the Brotherhood. I have to leave in 15 minutes."

Rachel's dark brown eyes widened in shock before she started to shake her head. "No…no fucking way. You?! You're being dismissed of all people?! NO!"

Her small hands were clenched at her sides as she shook with fury. "That's not right! You're our best soldier! You lead the Pride. Why?! I can't-"

Maverick grabbed her shoulders. "Rachel, I need you to do something for me. Find Elder Lyons and tell him what happened. Mom can explain everything you need to know." He paused and pulled her in for a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you, Squirt."

Rachel let out a half laugh-half sob. "This can't be happening."

Maverick gently pushed her away and squeezed her shoulders. "This is the only way that Dad and the others can be exposed. You have to do this for me, Rach. Only you and mom can."

"They can try," Morgan scoffed.

Maverick glared at her before looking at his sister again. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and leaned down a little to look her in the eye. "I love you, Rach. I'll be okay. It's up to you to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else."

Rachel nodded as tears streamed down her face. "I promise."

Maverick smiled sadly and turned to walk away.

He tried to ignore how his heart was breaking as Rachel reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt as they walked toward the bailey. She never did break that habit.

They walked out the door to the front gate and Maverick's stomach started to roll when he saw his mother standing near the gate with what looked like knapsack.

None of them said a word as she handed it to him. Maverick wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders and pulled them close, holding them one last time. He could feel his mother's tears starting to fall on his shirt and Rachel was trying to put on a brave face when he pulled away.

He forced himself to turn away from them and he followed the road that eventually led to Rivet City.

"I love you!" his mother called out.

He didn't let the tears fall until he was near the river.

* * *

><p>"That's why you were dismissed? For doing the right thing?! I want to kick your dad where it hurts!" Leyah snapped. Her knuckles started to turn white she was gripping the fabric of her jumpsuit so hard.<p>

They had eaten their meal during the story and Maverick was now nursing his beer. He felt like he needed something stronger after telling her everything.

Leyah was literally shaking with fury. "I can't believe that he would do that to you! You made it sound like you did something horrible but it's the opposite! And I can't believe your dad! You're his son! I can't even-"

Maverick reached out and grabbed one of her hands before she could start waving them around like she did when she was pissed. "Leyah, as far as I know, his plan never got carried out. Knowing that has helped keep me going."

Leyah shook her head as angry tears welled in her eyes. "It's just so damn stupid! It's hard to wrap my mind around."

Maverick huffed. "Tell me about it."

She stared at him for a moment and Maverick finally looked her in the eye again.

Without saying anything else, Leyah scooted close to him again and leaned against his side. Maverick tensed when she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Maverick was torn between putting his arm around her again and pushing her away. He knew he should push her away, but there was a bigger part of him that didn't want to. It felt good to have someone hug him again.

Instead of overthinking it, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders like before and they sat in silence until they both fell asleep.


End file.
